The Last One
by VioletRain03
Summary: A new life with new people and new secrets. Have you ever thought that you're maybe special? A killer and some strange creatures named manbeasts are after him. So what should he do now and who can he trust? Earlier OT3, Later OT6!
1. Someone New

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything!**

**WARNING: This story contains YAOI !**

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**_~~ 1. Someone New ~~_**

**~~ 9. December, Midday ~~**

"Ne, Fujiko, have you heard it, too? These rumours about the new transfer student, nya?" The red head spoke with joy and hugged his lightly brown-haired friend. His red hair was styled in a funny way and he was too energetic for his age, even when the weather was a mess, the red head was still as excited as always. The sun was blocked from big clouds, it would probably rain in the evening, but the air from the rooftop was the clearest, so mostly the little group of friends would be there to eat their meals.

"Saa, Eiji, how could I haven't heard it? Shida-sensei is thinking about him all the time. She surely should learn how control her thoughts." The boy, who Eiji embraced brotherly, chuckled and put more wasabi-sushi into his mouth. Fuji couldn't understand why all of his friends disliked wasabi-sushi so much. His eyes were closed and a smile was formed on his face. The closed eyelids hid the sapphire blue and sharp eyes, which froze every person as soon as he showed them.

"You know, Tezuka said you and Yukimura shouldn't read the thoughts of strangers when you're in human form? You should only do it when it's necessary, Fuji. It's so damn unfair! The two of you are the only one who can read the thoughts of other people in the human form!" Momo said and finished eating his third sandwich. A nod came from everyone as an agreement. Every manbeast had his own speciality in their human form – like the older one of them had the ability to read the thoughts of other people and could control their movements if the mind wasn't to strong-willed. Momo ran his hand through his short, black hair and lay down on the cool floor. Everything was better than the unbearable heat of his. The body heat of a manbeast was much higher than of a human.

"Saa, I was just interested in how the new boy looks like. The picture of him was really cute. Do you think he'll model for me? I would like to take some photos of this beauty!" The tensai chuckled again and finished joyfully his meal while his friends stared blankly at him. Had he just called the boy a '_beauty'_? They felt immediately sorry for the boy! Momo was the first one who broke free from the shock.

"I doubt that. No one would model for a sadist like you! The last time you had asked someone to model for you ended in a scandal! The poor girl ran with tears in her eyes out of the room!" He snorted out and laughed a bit at the memory.

"Fshuu, by the way, does anybody of you know who the guy is or where he comes from?" The snake, Kaidoh, spoke and everybody of the group looked automatically to their omnisciently data-man, waiting for the answer. Inui grinned at his friends and a sparkle reflected from his glasses. He took out a little notebook from his jacket pocket, opened it and started to read.

"Echizen Ryoma, fifteen years old, weight is unclear but he is pretty short – he is only one meter and sixty tall and is very popular by girls and also by a few boys. He loves to play tennis and has, for now, never been beaten in it. He comes from America and will be, because of his good grades, in our class – a third year."

"Is he really so good in tennis? I'm the first one who will play against him!" Momo said - nearly shouted.

"Fshuu, I'll be the first, idiot!" Kaidoh hissed to his rival and the fight between them started for the fifth time today, even if it was still Midday. Their record lay by ten times before midday which was hard to believe 'cause they were in different classes but Inui had counted everything so it must be right. While the two were fighting each other on the roof – Oishi tried to stopped them as always and Fuji giggled by the sight - Eiji had just noticed the last words which Inui had said.

"W-Wait, he'll be a third year with fifteen years? How can it be when neither Tezuka, Fuji nor Yukimura had reached that?" Eiji snorted out in amazement. Absolute silence. All friends were stunned. Had they heard it right? The little boy would come in one of their classes, if he would be really a third year.

"Fshuu, you're kidding, right, Inui?" Hard to believe - a normally freshman would be a third year.

"No, Kaidoh. My data is correct. The boy is, indeed, a tensai!" He said proudly and mumbled something more to himself like - "good new data... information... excited... new Inui juice!" The group talked several minutes about the new topic but it was silent again when suddenly Oishi spoke up.

"Maybe he's _the_ _one_?" Whispered the mother-hen of the group, Oishi, with hope in his voice. This single question was in everybody's head. The time went on and if they wouldn't find the person soon… no one wanted to think about the consequents.

"Tonight, we'll meet up in the old building again. And be careful everyone, new hunters are on their ways here." Tezuka spoke up in his monotone voice and left the roof with his emotionless face. The group stood up with serious faces and walked along the roof as the bell rang. As much as they all hoped to be still alive in the next three weeks, the fear about this little wish wouldn't come true was much bigger. The reality was hard to believe.

**~~ 9. December, Night ~~**

The night was dark, it rained badly and the streets were empty in this city. As always at a time like this. The people in the city were smart enough to save their short lives by hiding in their house. Not a single person, who had lived here long enough, would leave its home after the darkness began and the howls started to get louder. The creatures came mostly at night, ran around the streets and left if they hadn't found anything. Nobody knew who these creatures were, they would transform into the human form whenever they liked. Some people said they could read the thoughts and control their victim's movements with their eyes. Other said it was all a joke, so what was true?  
These creatures, living somewhere in the town, were running through the streets more often in the last time. Only a few old people knew the reason.

They were searching for their last chance to live in peace – searching for the last beast master. Every person who had dared to cross their way, when they're in the beast form, had been found dead – bitten into pieces - on the next day. Some other times there were also a few people dead because of an enormous loss of blood. All their blood was gone but then nowhere was a sign of a cut or some other bruises. The bodies were completely empty of blood.

The war between humans and manbeasts had started hundreds of years ago and only a few people knew about it, the only difference now was there were only a handful of hunters left who were brave enough to face the creatures and hunt them down. The monsters were uncontrolled and wild, only their missing masters had had the gift to control them but sadly they were all killed by a stranger. Only one more master existed somewhere in the world. Would the last beast master die so would it be all the manbeasts' death, too! A connection deeper than a blood connection.

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The little group sat, as arranged, in the old, ruined building and waited for the others to appear so they could discuss their nightly route, where they would search for _him_.  
The building was empty and stood in the middle of a dark forest were no normal human would walk around. The person only needed to walk along a wrong way and he/she was lost. The trees stood too close to each other which made it really hard to see through them, even when it was still midday.

"I have heard some more hunters will come in the next few days. Hopefully they're stronger than the last ones." Momo spoke in a playful voice. He leaned against a cold wall, closed his eyes and listened to the rain. If he would be still human he would sleep now for a few hours, but most of the manbeasts didn't need more than seven hours of sleep in a week if they weren't injured. "It's soo boring here, hopefully the new guy is someone really cool!" He yowled out.

"I hope so, too, nya. I think it's good that someone new will come to our school. I'll have someone new to play with, nya." Eiji giggled and jumped up and down in excitement. He would have a new friend and someone to tease.

"Saa, but we need to be careful when he is with us. We can't expose our real form." Spoke a soft but piercing voice out of the dark corner. Everyone was startled by the sudden tone.

"Oh Fujiko, don't appear so suddenly from out of nowhere! Is the meeting over? What had Yukimura and Atobe said?" The red head said in a happy tone. The answer was a simple smile and a gaze with open blue, shining eyes with a touch of gold in them. The smile alone was strange but it was even scarier with his eyes open.

"Fuji, your eyes are starting to change colors. What is it? What have they said? It isn't normal for you to be so emotional." Oishi, worried over everything as always, asked in a soft tone. The eyes of a manbeast in human form would change if they were emotional stressed. It was always dangerous if humans were in sight. If the emotions were too strong they would transform into their real form.

"The people in the town are all thinking about their own and about a man who seems to be a very strong hunter. Tezuka was right; in a few hours it'll be swarmed here full of deadly hunters. It'll be harder for us to search for _him_ when so many of them are here. Seiichi and Keigo made the idea to stop searching for _him_ and wait up." The tensai's eyes got even more golden then before. Eiji hugged his friend to calm him down while the others were deep in their own thoughts.

"I think it would be really better if we stop searching and… "Oishi didn't come any further with his sentence. He was cut off.

"If we don't find _him_ soon, we're all dead! We have only two more weeks before the hell will break out here! Cole will be here in two weeks, at Christmas Eve, and as soon as he finds _him_, it will be the end for _us_! He will do everything to kill the _last_ _one _which will be our death too!" Tezuka's voice was unbelievable sharp and harsh. He came out of the dark edge; his eyes were as golden as Fuji's.

"Do you really believe we'll find him before Christmas Eve?" Momo whispered. His eyes were still closed but the emotional chaos inside of him was clearly seen by his friends.

"The chance for us to find him right in time lays by…11,8 %." Inui said in a sad tone. The heads of the group fell down; the search seems more and more hopeless.

"Saa, It's a pretty small chance, isn't it? Maybe we won't be alive after Christmas Eve." Fuji's voice was calm, almost relaxed. The small circle turned silent by the realization. Who was crazy enough to feel relaxed when he heard he would die in the next two weeks? Answer: Fuji Syusuke.

"Fuji, you're scary, you know? How can you be so relaxed when we'll probably die in the next couple of days?" The jumping boy cried out, let go of his scary friend and hugged his lover next to him.

"We're searching all over the world for him but for now, nobody has found or seen him. Kevin is searching all over America and Paen is looking in Australia for him. Some others are looking in Europe and in Africa for him. We can only continue to search for him or hope he'll come soon and find us." Pause. "I'm worried. Will it be our last two weeks?" Oishi said and hugged the shaking and crying boy back. His own feelings went from fear to hopeless and back to fear.

"Let's hope the best and calmed down now. We'll meet up with Keigo and Yukimura in a few minutes to discuss our route for today." The leader said in a strong, steady voice, his feelings almost back under control, as they all stood up, ready to search anew for their last hope. The day would rise up soon and as soon as the first sunshine touched the ground, they would break up their searching. There were too many people who could notice them while they were too focused. In their human form, they would be only some young man from the tennis team of their high school. No one would suspect them to be the killers in the quiet town.

**~~ 10. December, Afternoon ~~**

A new town, new people and most likely a new life - this was exactly what Echizen Ryoma, a fifteen year old boy, didn't want to have. Why did his whole family need to move when only his father needed to go to Japan because of his job as a monk? He would have liked it when his father would have left his mother, his brother and him, Ryoma, so they could still live in America! Why must it be Japan? He could speak and understand the language, that wasn't his problem but…

his friends were in America – not in Japan,  
his life was in America - not in Japan and  
the strongest tennis players were in America! Not in Japan!

Ryoma's new home was an old temple-like house. He had a big room for himself and the house was one at all – huge and surprising modern, but he would need around thirty minutes to go to his new damned school. They had a private court in their new garden, which his father had made as a gift for him and his older brother to say sorry for the move. His cat, Karupin, had made himself a home at Ryoma's huge bed while he finished unpacking his things. He was tired and wanted to lie down in his soft bed and sleep, but his parents thought others as they called for him.

"Ryoma, can you go to Mrs. Yamashira and ask her if she has some medicine for us. Your father and brother have probably caught a cold." His mother spoke in a louder voice as she stood at the end of the stairs. Her son was sometimes really helpless. Always tennis or naps in his head, well, and sometime it was only his lovely cat. It was time her son got himself a girlfriend! Perhaps, he would get some new friends tomorrow and maybe there would be his love in his new school, who knew?

"I'll do it later." Came the tired reply. Rinko shook her head; her son was really lousy and lazy sometimes.

"Ryoma!" It was a soft warning from his mother. She would take his rackets away if he wouldn't do it in the next few minutes.

"Alright, I'll do! I'm on my way!" Ryoma shouted back. Gosh, he was so tired! He didn't want to go to the old woman at the end of the city. The sun was already on her way down and the moon could be seen lightly on the night sky. He stood up from his bed with a growl, Karupin still sleeping in the warm and comfortable bed. He stumbled down the stairs with an annoyed face, put his jacket and his shoes on and left.

"Hey Chibisuke, thanks and take care, alright? I know how to appreciate it." Ryoga teased him and smirked out of his window. Ryoma assumed it would be better to ignore his annoying brother and so he did. After he had made half of his way, it was slightly dark outside, the street lanterns, which were still unbroken, were already on and it snowed a little bit. The ground would be icy tomorrow by the combination of rain and coldness. He walked slowly further along the city and suddenly a cold shudder ran along his spine, something was wrong here but he didn't know what it was.

It got rapidly colder and colder, Ryoma snuggled further into his warm and white jacket while his mind was absent in his own little world with his eyes half closed. He was tired as hell and now he needed to go to the creepy old woman because of his stupid brother and old father. But there was one more thing which angered him more. The thought about his new school annoyed him. He would go to the only school here in this big town – it was unbelievable that there was only one school in a city where so many people lived – the school's name was KotoKara High*. A little noise brought him out of his thoughts.

Ryoma stopped in the middle of the empty street, turned his head to the right then to the left, he turned around and looked back, searching for reason of the noise but nothing was in sight. Especially this was what brought him a shiver over his back anew. No one was at the street, all the shops were closed, nowhere was a single sign of a human. What the hell was going on here? Weren't normally some restaurants or clubs open at night? He would never admit it but he started to fear that something was very wrong. What was going on here? Why was everything so quiet?

The young boy walked – ran – along the streets, his heart thumped so hard against his chest, from the panic, it nearly hurt. His lungs burnt from the sudden long sprint. His whole body felt as if it was under electricity, his entire body felt rather hot but cold at the same time. His feet stopped from time to time, it was as if they had their own will now. He didn't like it, whatever was going on here! Just when Ryoma saw the house from the old woman, he heard it. A dangerous, loud howl and some nearer growls came out of the closest alley next to him. He panicked and ran faster but stopped abruptly when suddenly something big and furry stood in front of him with a pair of golden, glowing eyes. The eyes were completely focused at him, held him tightly in the grip and the fur of the giant monster was long and purple. This _THING_ had five tails and looked like a bigger version of a fox.

_'A bad dream? Something like... that... doesn't exist!'_

Ryoma couldn't move. He felt as if he couldn't even breathe or scream for help. The eyes multiplied; there were closely ten pairs of glowing golden eyes after only a few seconds. Every monster had its own color and numbers of tails but what scared him the most - not even one of these eyes looked not hungry at him. As if they wanted to eat him.

'_What the hell is going on here? My body is on fire, my mind is cracked up and…_'

Ryoma stopped in the middle of his thought. Had one of these…_ THINGS_… just moved closer?

'_What, **and**? Continue! Ore-sama is curious what comes after **and**…!'_

An arrogant and proudly voice said. The small boy stared at the purple creature in front of him, which had probably spoken.

"Y-You can speak my language?" He stuttered, a little scared and took two steps backwards, just for safety, only to regret it as he noticed the other two creatures behind him. One of the two had lightly brown fur and the other had a dark blue fur. They both had five tails and also golden eyes.

'_What?'_

Came the sharp reply and Ryoma understood why it felt so strange to speak. It wasn't spoken with the mouth, it was more in his head. The young boy's eyes widen. Was he so tired? He heard already voices in his head? Was he tired enough to see monsters around himself or was it just his fantasy?

'_Oh god, what's going on here? I must be crazy! This isn't real! It can't be!'_

He thought and it was quiet in his head, he didn't get any answer. Was it really all an illusion? No, he still stared in these golden, glowing eyes. He couldn't look away. Only now, Ryoma noted the worst thing which could have happened in such a situation...

...They had surrounded the poor boy.

It was already pitch black outside, Ryoma couldn't see his own hand in front of his face and most of the street lanterns were suddenly dead. The creature before him looked away; the pair of glowing eyes loosened the grip around him. The boy could move and breathe normally again. His first instinct was_ 'RUN!'_ but the creatures had already surrounded him and some others were on the roofs – looking down to him. The boy turned around in a circle, cold sweat ran down his spine, he was still too young to die and the panic was written in his face. The creatures may have loosened the grip around his body but they came closer with every breath! He didn't know where he should run! He took one step forth only to make one back, the creatures were so near he would have reach them if he would take five steps forward. And then, without a warning, voices ran across his mind and screamed at him.

'_You can hear us? You can understand us?´_

'_Please don't fear us! We won't do anything to you!'_

'_We promise!'_

'_You can hear us, nya?'_

'_Please!'_

'_He can hear us, nya!'_

'_Help us!'_

'_Fshuu, unbelievable!'_

The voices screamed in unison in Ryoma's head. It was as if someone shouted something into his ear and stood right next to him. Ryoma's head nearly exploded from the noises and he fell onto his knees, his head in his hands.

'_Stop! Stop, please stop! What have I done? Stop; let me wake up! __STOP!' _

He screamed inside his head. His voice had somehow disappeared and his body was trembling badly from the pain. His body burnt or better said something burnt itself into his skin. He would have moved his clothes to look what it was but the fear about his head breaking if he let go of it was bigger. The yells were still going on; he felt horrible, every part of his body ached but at least they stopped when a louder and soft voice shouted.

'_Stop, everybody! We hurt him!'_

Ryoma saw how the dark blue and lightly brown monster came closer again but it didn't matter to him, if he wouldn't be eaten by these creatures than he would be burnt to death. The fire inside of him didn't get weaker. He couldn't help but let a painful sob escape his mouth as tears started to stream down his cheeks. He lay on his knees, his head was near them and his hands were still clenching his head tightly. It hurt so much. He had never felt anything which hurt as much as this.

Then suddenly something warm and soft touched him on his shoulder, tried to sit him up straight. Another thing touched him softly on his forehead. In shock and panic, he pushed his head up and tried to look at what had touched him, but his vision got blurry. He wanted to scream but the next thing he saw was the darkness which fell over him. He lost his consciousness and something warm and soft lifted him up before he would have crash the ground with his face. Ryoma's head lay against a soft and warm pillow and a steady '_thump'_ echoed in his ear.

Sadly the small boy didn't hear the cheering calls and happy tones from his destined family anymore.

**~~ 11. December, Morning ~~**

"…..ma…oma…Ryoma!" The named boy's eyes fluttered open. Bright light blinded him and he closed them again. He opened his eyes anew and stared into a familiar face. His brother with a cheerful smirk on his face shook the little boy on his shoulders. Where was he? He looked around and found himself in his room, in his bed with only his underwear on. Had he taken off his clothes last night? Wait! He was home? How…? Wasn't he yesterday…?

"Hey, Chibisuke. We'll be late if you don't hurry!" Ryoga said and walked out of his room.

"Was it all a nightmare? Or was it real?" Ryoma spoke to himself as he got up and put his new school uniform on, still trying to decide if it was real or all a bad dream.


	2. The First Day

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything!**

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**_~~ The First Day ~~_**

**_~~ 11. December, Dawn ~~_**

In the dawn when every human would still sleep, a sudden meeting was called out for every manbeast in the city. Nobody knew what was going on but as soon as they saw the four five-tailed manbeasts, standing in the middle of the dark forest and near an old building, everyone understood that it gave really important news. It took them only some seconds to transform into the human form as their elders were. They viewed to them with confused faces. It was quiet, no one dared to speak - the air was heavy but not from anger or fear, there was something else…

Their strong leader – Tezuka Kunimitsu - and the other five-tailed manbeasts - Fuji Syusuke, Yukimura Seiichi and Atobe Keigo– whispered something to each other and smiled. Even Tezuka smiled from happiness, which the younger manbeasts could hardly believe and when Fuji went inside the old, ruined building with a real smile it was even more unbelievable. The conversation stopped, Yukimura started to look in their faces and spoke with his soft voice.

"We have good news for all of you!" Sanada, a four-tailed manbeast, looked at his secret and one-sided love with a frown. What had happened? Fuji returned from the building with something in his arms. His dark brown coat covered it and only something dark green looked out of it. The '_family'_ looked closer and recognized a little boy who lay softly in Fuji's arms with his head on his warm chest. Seiichi came closer to Syusuke and petted the boy's soft hair so that the snow fell down from it. It was still snowing and they had covered the small boy in Fuji's coat so that he wouldn't freeze by this cold weather.

The bluenette took the left arm under the coat from the boy and pushed his clothes up so that his bare left arm could be seen. A black pattern had burnt itself along the boy's arm and was still growing, probably along the boy's shoulder and chest. These marks showed it all, he was the last beast master and they would only disappear when the little boy would get kissed from one of the five or four-tailed ones. The boy had short, dark green hair, soft lips, tender and white skin… Seiichi shook, hardly noticeable, his head which made his hair wave a bit. He didn't want to think further about the boy's naked body but his eyes were still wandering to him.

"As you can see, we have finally found the one we have searched for so long! We four…" Tezuka had spoken so far and looked over to the other five-tailed manbeasts. They nodded and he continued to speak. "…have decided we'll take care of him most of the time but we need a few of you who can take care of him at night. Cole will arrive in the city three days before Christmas Eve. It seems he has changed his mind and will be here a little bit sooner. We're also sure that he'll try everything to get his revenge on us by killing our last master! So don't let your guard down!"

Tezuka stopped talking and glanced to Atobe who viewed to him with lust in his eyes. In the meantime - Fuji gazed at the boy with passion, with his now golden eyes, as if he wanted to lick every part of the small boy's body, while Yukimura wanted to hold their angel. It gave a little head-fight between them. Sometimes it was really a good thing that _only _the two tensais could communicate with each other by telepathy in the human's form. It wasn't spring but when the leader gazed at his close friends; he guessed they all had spring fever! "One of us four will be always with him but even then we need help from all of you. Another strong hunter has started to live here and had called many hunters. They'll be here in a few hours. Be careful everyone! We'll let you hear from us if we have chosen you to take care of him. Dismissed!" Tezuka walked back to the other five-tailed ones while the other manbeasts tried to take one more glance of their new family member.

Hope, happiness and joy filled the air. Finally, most of the fear had disappeared and the hope shone brightly in their faces. They had found him! Their last hope had finally shown up! The chance, that they would be still living after Cole had arrived, grew and they would do everything to hold their last master safe. One after another of the young manbeasts disappeared out of the forest, so only Tezuka, Fuji, Yukimura, Atobe and Sanada were still standing near the old building.

"We should bring him home. His family is surely worried and asking themselves why he hasn't returned yet." Tezuka said and a frown built up on his face. "Does anybody know where he lives or where he normally wanted to go earlier?"

"He wanted to go to Mrs. Yamashira. Should I go – it fits perfectly. I'm kind of hungry right now." Yukimura said in a playful tone and smiled.

'_Fuji and Yukimura are, indeed, very alike.'_ Tezuka thought.

Both had this fake smile, this fake gentleness and they were tensais. Both could read other people's thoughts even when they were in their human form and last but not least they had, if Tezuka saw it right, a little crush on the small, sleeping boy who was still in Fuji's arms. "And what if we have? He'll shortly live with us so what is so bad about it?" Fuji and Yukimura smirked.

"Fuji, hadn't we agreed that the two of you don't read our thoughts?" Tezuka said in a sharp voice. It was always the same! God, he hated it when these two looked in his head! No one's secrets were safe if they were near!

"So can I go and have a little meal, Mitsu?" Yukimura said, still smirking. It was great to see other people's secrets and tease them with it!

"Yeah, you and Fuji should go. It's pretty long ago that the two of you had drunk blood. Don't let your guard down!" He was called by his pet name again but let it slip, he had no time for games right now. Tezuka's eyes were glowing while Fuji kissed the little boy's forehead and let Atobe take care of him. The marks began to fade away from the boy's body as the two transformed into the beast form and sprinted away.

It was normal for the five-tailed ones to drink blood once in a week. Only the five-tailed manbeasts needed it while the younger ones had never required it. The more tails someone had in his beast form - the older and stronger was the person. To have five tails was the highest and the weakest manbeast had two tails. Only the five- and four-tailed manbeasts had a special ability. Sanada, Atobe and Tezuka were left with a lightly snoring child in Atobe's arms. They viewed down at him with interest. Their life was in the hands of a small and short boy. There would be two hard weeks.

"Ore-sama will take care of you, don't worry!" Atobe said proudly and new black marks grew on the boy's arm but this time on his right side.

"I don't think you'll master it. Look, there are already new marks and the more manbeasts touch him, the bigger will be the mark later. And one more thing, have you ever thought about what the boy had gone through so far? A group of unknown creatures who had chased him and had nearly eaten him! What do you think will happen when he wakes up?" Sanada glared at the '_called King'_ and took carefully the little boy in his own arms. The marks appeared on the boy's right leg. Atobe wanted to hiss at Sanada but stopped as they all heard a soft moan. They looked down again in Sanada's arms and saw that the boy began to stir.

"I'll bring him home; you two can transform and go home. See you later." Sanada left the two alone and reached the boy's home right in time. The boy began to move in his arms which made it harder for him to sprint. He jumped in the room through the open window, a skill which every manbeast had, and laid the boy down on the bed which he hoped was his. It looked pretty uncomfortable for the boy so he took of the little prince's clothes except his shorts, laid the blanket over him and kissed his hand, so that the marks would go away. After that he left the house at the same way he had come in. He was too quiet as that anybody had heard him.

**_~~ 11. December, Early Morning ~~_**

He was slower than usual, quieter than normally and didn't react of the teasing his father and older brother gave him. Ryoma was too deep in his own thoughts as to he notice those two. He put on his school uniform which was mostly black, only his shirt and socks were white, and stumped down the stairs. His thoughts circled in his head about the last night. He didn't remember anything which could be halfway real.

'_Monsters which look like a bigger version of a fox with golden eyes, long fur, sharp claws and sharp teeth. It was surely only a dream - only a bad dream!'_

"…suke! Chibisuke! Hey, have you heard me?" Ryoga waved his hand in front of his little brother's face but in the next second his hand was slapped away and Ryoma was – once again - deep in his thoughts.  
He didn't complain with the food - it was American style today - nor did he spoke a single word. He only drank the glass with milk in quietness, stood up and made himself ready for school. His parents were confused but didn't say anything. They guessed that he was in the puberty.

"Meow" Ryoma turned around and fondled Karupin behind his ears. His cat purred and rubbed his head more against the warm hand, trying to get more tender loving care behind his ear. Ryoma smiled gently while Ryoga came out of the room, where they had eaten their breakfast, and grinned. Karupin was the only one who could raise such a smile out of Ryoma's face.

"Are you ready?" The older one asked, glide in his shoes, pushed his bag over his right shoulder and looked back to his baby brother. "Come on! We're already late and I don't want to be late on my first day in my new school!" He grabbed his brother's wrist and dragged him out of the house. Ryoma could grab his own bag early enough before he left the house.

"You don't need to wait for me. I never said you should wait!" Ryoma snapped back and broke free from the grip but slipped on the icy ground and landed on his butt. "Ouch. You can go forward without me!" He shooed Ryoga away and tried to stand up from the even ground.

"Chibisuke, what is wrong with you today? You're pretty strange." The older brother stopped in front of him, offered a hand, which was - more or less - gratefully taken by Ryoma, and faced his little brother with a frown. "Oh, I know! You're worried that all the girls want me instead of you! Ah, don't worry, I'll give you a few if you say _'please, big brother'_!" Ryoga's teasing was completely ignored by Ryoma who walked slowly along the lively street. A picture ran across his mind – an empty street, snow was hovering down from the sky and it was dark.

'_A dream, it was just a bad, stupid and crazy dream! Nothing to worry about! If I would tell anybody about it, the person must think that I have lost my senses!'_

Ryoma walked quietly, slowly and carefully further the icy street. The last thing he needed now was that he slipped anew and broke some of his bones. In the meantime had Ryoga reached their new school because he walked faster than his little brother with the short legs. A herd of boys stared closely at him but after a minute, as if they had mistaken him for someone else, they all looked away from him in disinterest.

'_What the hell…? What the shit was that for?' _

Ryoga thought and went inside the school right to the secretary office. A group of girls giggled shyly as they saw him and a smirk formed itself on his face. At least the girls had interest in him! The day was saved! Ryoma reached the school gate luckily in time but something was wrong with him. The closer he got, the more started his body to burn. He stopped for a minute and tried to calm down, then walked inside and noticed that only a group of boys were on the schoolyard. The other thing he noted was that they all stared directly at him.

'_Why are they all staring at me? Have they never seen a short boy or what?'_

Two guys of the group started to laugh out loud. They were both tall, one had lightly brown hair, the other one had dark blue hair and their voices were both soft. Ryoma had the feeling he was the reason for their laughers but what had he done? His body started to get hotter and hotter, his heart beat a little bit faster as usually and his entire body stood under electricity. He knew this feeling but where had he felt it?

'_Great! It can't get any better now, can it?'_

Never draw the devil on the wall! Ryoma walked, without looking where he was going, and slipped – twice today – on the icy ground. In only one second he would crash the road but he was surprised that he didn't feel any pain. "Be careful! It's really even here. You're lucky that I caught you in time." The brown-haired boy smiled down at him. Ryoma was perplexed by the sudden touch. The left side of his body burnt stronger and he tried his best to ignore it but something burnt itself so strong into his flesh that he had nearly screamed from the pain. His eyes started to water.

'_Oh no, what the hell is happening here? Wasn't the boy standing at the end of the schoolyard a moment ago? How can he catch me if…? Why does my body burn so much?'_

His mood was outright bad. Everything went wrong since the morning had begun. A picture of some creatures popped up into his mind but he pushed them aside as soon as they had come.

'_A dream, it was a stupid, unreal dream! Why do I worry so much about it? Stop it, Ryoma! Push yourself together! Ignore the pain!'_

The smiling boy stared blankly at him with sapphire blue eyes for a whole minute before he started to giggle again. The blue haired boy from the group approached him and was giggling, too. Had he missed a joke? What was wrong now? The longer he was here, the more he started to hate it. Didn't anybody of them note the heat around here? It was difficult to breathe. What was wrong with him?

"Ah, you must be Echizen Ryoma, right?" The blue haired boy said with a gentle smile. But if it was gentle… why did Ryoma feel so creepy about it? "My name is Yukimura Seiichi and this is…" He pointed to the brown haired boy who had caught Ryoma a minute ago. "…my friend Fuji Syusuke, we're very pleased to meet you." They both smile their strange smile and Ryoma wanted to ask how they knew who he was but as always his annoying brother disturbed him.

"Chibisuke! Get your ass here, right now! How long do you need to reach your class?" He shouted out of a window at the thirf floor over the whole schoolyard. Why did his _'oh so lovely brother'_ want to embarrass him so much? Ryoma suppressed the desire to throw something hard against his brother's head. He would make sure that his dearly brother got what he deserved later! The first bell rang and some of the group ran inside their classrooms. Ryoma, who didn't know where to go yet, wanted to bow and leave the two strangers behind but two hands held him back at his shoulders. These lightly touch brought his body - one more time – on fire and full of electricity. He opened his mouth and looked up to them but saw…

… nothing other than darkness. He lost consciousness and fell into soft and warm arms. He smelled something nice.

**_~~ 11. December, Morning ~~_**

Seiichi lifted Ryoma in his arms and pressed the cold body against his chest, hoping it would warm up his prince. His nose touched lightly the boy's forehead who moaned softly by this action while Fuji chuckled, brushed the boy's hair and took the boy's bag with the other hand. A few of the so called '_guardians'_ for Ryoma walked closer to the three. The scene of lovey-dovey-ness between the two tensais and the small, new kid wasn't overseen by their new fangirls. The girls screamed in excitement out of the windows.

"Could you two stop it, please? The students will freak out if you continue with the show! Especially the girls!" Atobe hissed, looked to the freaking girls all over the windows. Atobe feared that, if the girls would press themselves further against the glass, it would break. It needed only one girl to see this little scene and the entire school would talk about it the whole week long. Gossip over gossip.

"Oh, c'mon, you're just jealous that your ability as a manbeast had faded away a little bit. The feminine students are only after you because it's your ability which attracts them!" Seiichi contered and went with Syusuke into the school building with their angel in his arms. The normal students looked and gazed at them in curiosity. It wasn't normal that the herd of attractive boys let someone near them. They played with most of the students, extremely with the out-minded girls. That they touched and nearly kissed this boy was like a miracle!

"Those! Two! They never listen to what we say, do they, Mitsu?" Atobe snapped from anger and glared with lightly golden eyes at his lover, Kunimitsu. Luckily, nobody saw the literally sweet drop which ran down Tezuka's temple. He would use some aspirin later if Keigo was still in a bad mood after the first lesson.

"Atobe, calm down. Your eyes are glowing. I think we should hurry and go to our classes, don't you think?" Sanada interrupted and saved his friend and leader for an apocalypse.  
Fighting against Atobe was one of the last things someone wanted!

* * *

Seiichi laid Ryoma down on one of the nurse's beds and took off his shoes. Syusuke laid a blanket over him and kissed the boy lightly on the lips so that the shining black marks would disappear from his left arm and shoulder. Just when Syusuke broke the one-sided kiss, the nurse office's door flew open and a boy ran inside.

"Chibisuke!" Ryoga yelped and stopped when he saw two other people near his baby brother. One of them was sitting on the left side of the bed and was holding Ryoma's hand. The other one had his head over Ryoma as if he wanted to…_kiss..._him?

'_Hands off from my baby brother or you'll regret it!' _

"What are you two doing here? I'll take care of him, so don't worry." Ryoga tried to sound gentle and slowly approached the bed, where Ryoma lay in. He was angry, sad, worried, confused and felt somehow lonely. Something was wrong with his dear little brother but he didn't know what it was that bothered him so much. Didn't his brother trust him? He had promised he would never leave him alone or lose him! He had promised to protect him for the rest of his life!

"You don't have to worry. We won't do something bad to him. We promise." Syusuke smiled as always his fake smile, took the emerlad-haired teen's right hand in his own ones and sat down on the right side of the bed. The small boy's body was warmer than before and some pictures about his naked body circled in the smaller tensai's head. Ryoma was really a beauty, his bare chest, his tummy, his legs, his...

'_Stop it, Syusuke! Or do you want to start an orgy here?'_

Seiichi's voice echoed through his head.

'_Sorry but wasn't it you earlier who had had the same thoughts as I have now?'_

Syusuke chuckled but didn't look up, too big was the chance that his eyes had changed colors already and he saw, from the corner of his eyes, that his best friend's eyes were already golden. The two stared at their little, sleeping love and giggled inside at the curses which the big brother shot at them in his mind.

'_Why are these idiots still sitting here? Haven't they understood me? Oh man, if these oxen don't go in the next ten seconds, I'll..'_

The second bell rang and the pupils, who stared through the windows, ran off, they didn't want to be late. Ryoga, who was undecided if he should scream at the two attractive boys or if he should just kick them outside, stood at the end of Ryoma's bed. "I think you two can go now. I'll take care of him." Ryoga's voice was shaking from anger.

"It's your first day here, so I think _you_ should go. Ryoma is in our class not in yours so we'll take care of him." The voice changed from soft to icy cold. Slowly but surely strained this boy Seiichi's and Syusuke's nerves. The anger got bigger with every minute. To disturb a manbeast in the moment where he was with his lover could get fatally for every human.

'_Seiichi calm down! We can't! Stop it!'_

'**_He_**_ should stop to temp my anger any more! He would be already dead if Ryo wouldn't lay here in this room and know him!'_

'_Yeah, but if we kill him now, Ryo wouldn't ever forgive us, would he? And since when do you have the permission to call **my** lover '_Ryo'_?'_

'_Syusuke ...we'll speak about that later!'_

The door opened for the second time, the connection between them broke up and the nurse came in. She looked confused by the sight of three boys around one bed. "Class has started. You should hurry to get in there. I'll take care of the young boy." Her long, blond hair was tied into a ponytail; her coat was white and reached her knees. She looked strictly at the three and put her hands on her hips as a little warning. Ryoga looked at the two and opened his mouth to say something as a little moan took their attention. Eyelids fluttered open and golden, brown eyes tried to focus at his surroundings.

"Hey Ryo, had you have a nice dream?" Fuji asked gently and helped the little boy to sit up. All the anger was forgotten. Seiichi looked with lovely eyes at the sweet boy and stroke gently his hand with his thumb.

"What happened? Did I pass out?" Ryoma asked and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with his free hand. He was tired and had a lightly headache. His body began to burn anew.

'_I must have eaten something wrong in the last time."_

"Young man, you can rest for the incoming period but your friends must go now." The nurse said and touched the boy's forehead. Jealously rose in the two manbeasts up. "You seem to have a small fever." Her hand was somehow pushed away from Ryoma's forehead but nothing touched her. It was strange as if the air had pushed her hand way. She let the thought slip and turned around.

"I'll stay. I'm in the same class as he is." Seiichi and Syusuke spoke in unison and formed a smile that would let every woman melt. The nurse turned around on more time, let out a sigh and nodded.

"But three is one person to much!" She looked at Ryoga and shooed him outside. The two manbeasts smirked at their win. The foe was gone and they would be alone with their love in nearly three minutes.

"I'll go to the teacher's lounge and tell them about your absence for the next period. Tell me your names, please." She wrote down their names and left the room. Left the three alone.

* * *

The class was noisy and unfocused. The teacher didn't know what was going on today with his students. He had sat down in his chair and had watched the boys and girls whispering to each other for a while now.

"Alright, would someone of you please tell me what is so exciting today?" The teacher threw his book so hard on his desk that it gave a loud crashing sound and the class went silent. A female student lifted her shaking hand up. The teacher nodded to her and she told him the news from today's morning.

"So you want to tell me that Yukimura and Fuji are in the nurse's office with Echizen?" The normal students nodded in agreement, while Eiji, Inui, Oishi, and Atobe - they're in the same class as Yukimura, Fuji and Ryoma - looked at each other. Two tensais and a small beautiful boy in one room with soft beds, was that really a good idea? All manbeasts had seen the little, lovely scene from earlier. They had also seen the eyes of their two tensais. Well, the positive thing would be that they didn't need to worry anymore who would mark the boy so that the burning marks wouldn't burn so much anymore. It would be surely one of them.

But Eiji had the little feeling that something was going to be wrong; it was too easy, wasn't it? Every lesson went on like this in every class, much to the teachers dislike. Their pupils were unfocused and the person of this mess hadn't shown up yet. Ryoma slept the whole time in the nurse room with two friends around him. The fever was almost down when the midday break began so that the nurse let him go.

**_~~ 11. December, Midday ~~_**

It was still snowing outside so that the group of eleven friends sat in a quiet and empty class room, hiding from the crazy fan-girls of them.

"What do you think the three are doing in the nurse office?" Momo asked and ate joyful his ramen while sitting on a chair. It was good that Atobe could persuade the feminine teachers to have a room only for him and his friends because of these annoying girls. Loud laughing filled the room. They viewed to Eiji, who fell down from his chair from laughing and lay down on the ground with his sandwich still in his hand, and Marui who held his stomach with his hands from laughing while sitting on a window sill. The bubble gum was all over his face.

"What is so funny about that?" Kirihara, the youngest manbeasts, asked in an angry tone and was petted by Jackal.

"They have…dirty thoughts nothing to worry about." Jackal answered the young boy's question and drank his tea while Kirihara calmed down, stared at his sempai and then around the room. From another edge of the room, where Inui collecting data about his friend's weaknesses and strengths; came only some words like - good data and I knew something like this would happen. Near the last window were Tezuka and Atobe quietly talking about something which he sadly couldn't understand, Sanada was reading a book on a desk and Kaidoh was fighting against Momo - again – as Oishi tried to stop them.

"When will Yukimura and Fuji come here? And where is the brat? I thought you said he'll hang out with us?" Kirihara asked and looked to his senpais. Eiji was the fastest to answer as his ability as a four-tailed one was to hear everything better.

"They'll be here in a few seconds." The red head jumped up from the ground, unlocked and opened the door. Yukimura smiled, just like Fuji did, and pushed Ryoma forward. All eyes were directed at him like today's morning. If Fuji wouldn't have dragged him, the young male would still stand at the door frame.

'_They're staring at me again. Can't they stop? Why is my body burning stronger than before? It wasn't so painful a minute ago!'_

"You shouldn't stare at him so much. He is only a student as we are! He had only a little fever but everything is fine now." Fuji said after reading the boy's thoughts. He tried his best not to laugh about it but from time to time ran a little snicker out of his mouth. They all introduced themselves to the newcomer. Eiji gave Ryoma a death-hug just like Momo did, the others only nodded. They sat close to each other on the ground - there were only four chairs and desks - but it was normal so far. Just when Fuji pulled Ryoma onto his lap, it was everything else than normal. He tried to move away but gave up after some minutes. He was surprised that his senpai was so strong.

'_Oh no, I can feel how the blood is rushing to my cheeks. Thanks to Ryoga I had forgotten my cap! Shit!'_

Yukimura and Fuji giggled at this cute thought as the others talked about daily things. Ryoma listened most of the time but when suddenly Eiji stared at the locked door, Ryoma frowned.

'_What is so special about the door?'_

Only a minute later someone knocked strongly on the door. Eiji shut his ears with his hands because they were too sensible, in the meantime was Oishi stroking Eiji's back, Fuji tightened the grip around Ryoma's waist who blushed even more by the action.

"Hey Chibisuke, you're in there, right? I need to speak to you! Unlock the door, please." Ryoga tried to open the door but it was in vain. Nobody answered or had the motivation to answer. Ryoma looked at everyone's face and saw their annoyed expression. He opened his mouth but a hand shut it and stopped him from doing any sounds.

"Hush! I have no nerve for your brother right at the moment. The meeting in the nurse room was enough for today. So please keep quiet, alright?" Fuji whispered to him into his ear. Ryoma could feel every breath from Fuji on his neck and slowly nodded. He didn't know if it was him who had nodded or if it was his body itself. The breath against his neck was killing him inside. A shudder went over his spine.

'_Oh god, why does it feel so good? Shouldn't I normally shout at him to stop?'_

Fuji smirked, took his hand away from Ryoma's sweet mouth but instead of realising the little boy in his lap, he pressed himself even closer to the boy's neck. On purpose blew the tensai softly against the neck and got a little purr as reward. Ryoma shivered from joy and was in another world as the brown-haired teen continued. Forgotten were his new friends around him, forgotten was his brother at the door and forgotten was the burning feeling in his body.

'_It feels so good. I don't know what I should do.'_

The noises from the door stopped and the footsteps from outside became silent after Ryoga went away. The only sound which ran across the room were Ryoma's purr. He purred more and louder as his neck was softly licked, nipped and kissed. His body reacted, the marks slowly faded away for the third time, his world was upside down and his breath got heavier.

'_What the hell is happening right now? Am I really doing...?'_

Fuji was satisfied with the result. His eyes were golden but the most important thing was his future-lover reacted at his actions and Seiichi, who screamed at him in his head that he should keep his filthy hands away from Ryo, was angry as hell at him that he got the chance to get near **his** Ryo. Could the day get any better? Yeah, it got better! As Fuji saw the red faces and the gazes of his friends, who had watched his little ministration, it was closely the perfect day.

"Er…Fuji…" Oishi stuttered with a red face.

"Fuji. Stop it!" Tezuka was strict as always and felt a little bit sorry for the boy. The leader was a little bit red around his nose but tried to hide it. It was sadly too bad, Fuji had already read everything in his thoughts. A wide smile lay on the devil's face but he shut his mouth as he saw the toxic look from Tezuka.

"We need to stop now, Ryoma. But we'll continue at your home later, okay?" Fuji whispered into Ryoma's ear who was still too confused and in his dream world. Ryoma noticed too late what his friend had just said. Fuji kissed the boy's cheek and released him from his lap.

'_Continue? My home? Today? Had he called me by my first name? Hey!'_

They all stood up as the first bell for the last lesson rang and left the room. Ryoma was being dragged by the jumping Eiji. His mind was from then on a completely mess thanks to Fuji Syusuke.

* * *

The next lesson was quieter than before. The students couldn't gossip when the person was in the same room as them. Tennis practice was cancelled because of the snow, so the club decided to go to the nearly restaurant. Ryoma got pulled along with the team. Everyone was friendly to him; especially Yukimura and Fuji were very gentle. They ran their hands through his hair many times, striped his hands and walked close by. The normal club member joked and teased him about his two male admirers but Ryoma didn't dislike it.

At his home was only his cat who would give him the feeling of safety and love. His mother was often away in other countries, his father read all day long these perverse books, his cousin came only to make dinner when his mother wasn't home and his brother was most of the time outside with some girls just like he was right now. So left alone Karupin to comfort him. As they reached the restaurant, Ryoma felt the electricity running across his body. They were talking happily, teasing and gamble with each other. It felt surprisingly comfortable for Ryoma. Well, only to the point as his brother entered the restaurant, grabbed his wrist and left with him.

They left so fast that Fuji couldn't come with Ryoma. The marks, which were still on Ryoma's body, hadn't disappeared yet. No one of the manbeasts had had the chance to kiss their prince without getting the attention of everyone in the restaurant. The siblings reached the temple-like house and Ryoma felt still strange. He had the feeling that it got even worse. His whole body felt ... sick and weak. He hardly could eat something from the dinner which his cousin made. The boy went to the bathroom to take a hot bath to relax. Ten minutes later filled a high shriek the entire house.

**_~~ 11. December, Night ~~_**

The sun went down the hills, the night began and for the very first time, the city was free from the creatures. The only dead person who had been found today's morning was Mrs. Yamashira. The police ascertained that it was because of the big lost of blood. Hopefully she was the last victim of these monsters.

The hunters walked through the city, ready to meet up with their leader and to hunt these creatures down!


	3. A Dangerous Connection

**Disclaimer: I sadly do not own anything!**

* * *

**_~~ A Dangerous Connection ~~_**

**_~~ 11. December, Night ~~_**

It couldn't be!  
How did it...?  
It wasn't possible!  
Since when...?

Ryoma stared with wide eyes into the mirror at his own naked body. Different black pattern were on mostly ever part of his body. His arms, his shoulders, his chest and spine, his legs and even his feet! They were all ornate with black different pattern! What the hell was going on here? Since when did he have a tattoo or so many tattoos? The boy stroke softly with his shaking hands along his skin where the pattern rested. Nothing changed; the black color was still on his skin. He couldn't restrain a scream from shock.

His father and brother rushed up the stairs to him after they had heard the high shriek. The emerald-haired male had luckily locked the door before he had undressed himself. If his father would see these…tattoos… he would probably collapse from a heart attack while his brother would ask him out! Someone slammed against the door, tried to open it and slammed anew against it as the door didn't open. Ryoma didn't hear it, too deep was the shock. The poor boy slid down the wall with only his towel around his waist. His gaze was unfocused; he didn't know what he should do. Should he hide them or showed them to his family.

'_Yeah, great idea Ryoma! Go and show them the tattoos and say that you have no clue how they came onto your body! Onto your entire body! What the holy shit is happening with me?'_

Ryoma stood up with his suddenly weak and painful body, with help of the bathtub next to him, and slowly put his clothes on again, to cover the black color. His hands were, after he had breathed in and out deeply, still shaking. Outside the bathroom shouted his father. He should open the damn door or he would break through it. Ryoma wanted to answer - I'm fine - but the fear of his voice breaking midsentence was stronger, he decided to stumble wordlessly to the door, breathed deeply in and out one more time, unlocked the door and stepped backwards.

As soon as a '_click'_ symbolized an unlocked door, Nanjiroh ran inside and found his son with wide eyes and fully clothed in the middle of the bathroom. His protective sense turned on and he hugged his youngest son tightly. He noted immediately the changes of the boy. When Ryoga had told him about Ryoma's blackout before the school had started, he knew _they_ were near. The old man didn't understood why they wanted his son so badly as there were surely enough of his sort but he was certain - he would do everything to protect his beloved son! He wouldn't let _them _have him!

"Ryoma, everything is alright. I'm here to protect you. Don't worry, you're safe here." Nanjiroh soothed him and stroke carefully his son's back. Ryoma was shaking like crazy, something which didn't fit to the cocky brat. Ryoga looked with worried eyes at his little Chibisuke. He hoped Ryoma would stop shaking and joked with them. The older teen waited for him to say '_Mada mada dane!_' with his arrogant smirk but nothing like this ever happened. Nanjiroh and Ryoga guided the smaller teen to his room, laid him down on his bed with all his clothes on. It seemed the time had come to tell his oldest son the horrible truth. Nanjiroh saw how Ryoga viewed worriedly at his brother and wanted to help him. Yeah, it was time.

"Ryoga, come with me. I need to tell you something." Nanjiroh petted his boy's head once more, then the two left the boy alone and closed the door from outside. Ryoma sat up on his bed; his legs were crossed over each other, the room was in completely darkness and loneliness. The room was silent and empty just like his mind. The short male turned a lamp on, closed his eyes, counted to ten, opened them anew and pushed his clothes up. He prayed and pleaded about his eyes playing a prank on him earlier but his pray hadn't been heard. The marks were still there and Ryoma kept looking at them in… he didn't know what he felt, maybe confused, mad, sad, fear, angry, tired… there were so many emotions running inside his body.

Everything what had happened in the last two days didn't make any sense. He had never felt so hurt, so weak and so lost. He stood up, walked to his wardrobe, undressed, for the second time today after he came home from school, and put on a black trouser with a dark green sweatshirt. He sat down on his bed anew, pressed his knees near his chest with his head resting on them and his hands clenching his head. A little '_meow'_ let him glance up. Karupin rubbed her face against his feet. "Karupin, what is going on here? Everything was fine a few hours ago. I had talked to my new friends and …I don't know… everything is so confused and upside down." Ryoma felt sick from everything. He had a headache and was tired, his eyes closed themselves and after a short time, the little boy fell asleep with his kitten in his arms.

'_Hopefully everything will be normal after a nap.'_

* * *

_He heard several voices from wherever he was. It was pitch black around him and the air was awful. Everywhere smelled metallic and something warm but wet touched him softly on his left hand. He didn't fear nor did he try to struggle free. The reason was unknown; it felt safe so he let it happen. The voices got louder and louder as if they were now standing next to him._

"_Hurry, we have only a few minutes."_

"_Long enough for me."_

"_C'mon, we need to leave."_

"_Don't be scared, sweet dreams my love."_

"_I can hear them, nya!"_

"_It's dangerous here. I'm scared!"_

"_They come, everyone RUN!"_

_He heard footsteps running away and some others coming closer to him. A loud crash, growls and…_

* * *

Ryoma woke up from his mysterious dream. His clothes were all drown in his sweat and his green tinted hair was sticking on his face. His heart pounded wildly and unsteady in his chest. His breath was thin and, the worst of all, he felt more exhausted and tired than before. "I can't take it anymore. What's going on here?" The boy whispered in an angry tone. The city was hiding something big but did he really want to know what it was?

**_~~ 12. December, Morning ~~_**

"Nya, do you think it's a good idea to pick him up when he is living with…" Eiji whispered as the group of eight friends – Seiichi, Syusuke, Momo, Kaidoh, Eiji, Oishi, Jackal and Marui - walked closer to the temple-like house.

"Why not? We're just his new friends, aren't we? He didn't know how we looked like in our human form, so everything will be alright." Seiichi cut the cat-like boy mid-sentence, smiled and went to the house's door. He knocked three times but no one answered. The bluenette knocked a second time with the same result. The teens stared at the door with a frown. Was their prince already on his way to school? It was quiet and peaceful but often was the first impression the wrong one.

"Maybe he's already on his way." Momo rubbed the backside of his head with his right hand.

"No, he's still sleeping. I can hear the thoughts of his father and even Ryoga is still inside. I'll go to him through the window. C'mon Seiichi, let's go." The two disappeared around the house and jumped silently into the room on the second floor. Their look saddened when they saw their love in his bed. Their prince was sweating like crazy, breathing heavy and clenching his pillow and blanket with every part of his body. It was the same picture when they had visited him yesterday's night and kissed him on the hand to let the marks disappear. It seemed he was even more scared over something and couldn't wake up. The poor boy had probably seen the marks on his body and thought he was crazy. It wouldn't have happened if this annoying guy hadn't interrupted them in the restaurant!

"Should we wake him up? I can't handle seeing him so hurt." The brown-haired teen closed and unlocked Ryoma's door quietly. The hell would break out if the family would see their next movement. The dark-haired tensai kneeled over the sleeping beauty, stroke tenderly his hand along Ryoma's bare arm and tried to loosen Ryoma's grip on the pillow and blanket with soft caresses. The young boy's body obeyed after a few minutes of being kissed on the eyelids, cheeks and nose, so now the emerald-haired teen lay on his back with one hand resting next to his head while the other stayed on his stomach.

"I'll do it, alright? He'll relax soon." Syusuke sat next to Ryoma and leaned closer. He touched their prince's forehead with his own and closed his eyes which were open a minute ago. The teen focused with all his strength and tried to find the thoughts from his enigma. It was harder to read the thought when the person was in a deep slumber. Seiichi checked their situation and searched for enemies. He would know if someone was about to come to the house or to the room. It took the bruentte some minutes to connect his mind with this of Ryoma's, before he started to calm him down. He whispered soothing words into his mind while the bluenette stroke the teen's hands with his thumbs.

* * *

Momo leaned next to the wall, over him was Ryoma's window on the second floor, and waited for his senpais to come back. Eiji sat under a near tree, shut his eyes and listened to his friends' talk and actions. A wide smile ran over his face. He was curious who would get Ryoma's heart and soul. Marui chewed on his toxic green bubble gum, Jackal was lost in mind and Oishi sat next to his lover and leaned his head on the red head's shoulder, a wide blush on his cheeks. It had stopped snowing but the weather was still cold and the ground was as icy as yesterday.

Only Kaidoh wasn't where his friends waited. A little voice called for him to play with him. The viper opened the garden's gate, listened where the little voice exactly came from and walked inside the garden. It sat near a door which led him inside the house. Kaidoh tiptoed carefully to it and sat next to the source. Kaidoh stroke along his fur and Karupin purred. Thanks to his skill as a four-tailed manbeast he could understand what animals said. The cat was worried over his master. The time ran and after thirty minutes they all were still waiting for Ryoma and the other two to appear.

* * *

Seiichi grinned by the look of the still sleeping boy under him. Ryoma's scared face faded slowly away and a relaxed one replaced it. The brown-haired boy opened his eyes, kissed the boy on his forehead and looked up to his friend.

'_You or me?'_

Seiichi asked by telepathy - no one would hear them - gazed first to Fuji, then to the teen beside them and back to the brunette.

'_He'll take yours and I'll take his. How about it?'_

Syusuke smirked at his close friend who had stopped halfway in his actions.

'_Okay, but I hope that you know that we talk about his blood not about his heart or virginity!'_

'_Right but to make it sure, Ryo's heart is even then mine, Seiichi!' _

'_Dream on!'_

The two cut the connection. Seiichi pushed his sleeve up, showed his bare arm and bit in his wrist with his fangs. Only in this kind of situation were the fangs of a manbeast useful. The bluenette sucked on it but didn't swallow it while Fuji caressed Ryoma one more time and whispered sweet words to the sleeping person. The boy tried to move but was held where he lay by one of Syusuke's hands. The boy needed to drink blood to ease the pain from the marks.

"Shh... Ryo, you don't want us to be discovered now, do you? Everything will be fine in a few minutes." The brown haired boy said and looked at the clock, which lay on the headboard of the bed, and read that it was 08:16. He got distrustful. Their school had already started. Wouldn't normally the father or brother wake the boy up? And why didn't Ryoga go to school? He could feel the presence of the two in the living room. A shiver crossed his spine. There were even more people sitting in the living room. People who he hadn't noticed till now! Something was wrong. Syusuke looked to his friend who had noted the same and spoke first.

'_Syusuke, I think..'_

'_I know. I had the same thought. Something is wrong here. I'll go to the others and ask Tezuka what we should do. He's waiting with the others outside.'_

The blue-eyed tensai stroke the boy's cheek one last time before he jumped out of the window in high speed and left the bluenette alone with a slowly awakening prince. He still kneeled beside the little boy, put his free hand on his chin, opened Ryo's mouth a little bit, leaned forward and in the next second their lips met. Seiichi pressed his red lips against Ryoma's and let his blood fill the little boy's mouth. The teen, fully awake by now, felt something sweet and liquid floating inside his mouth. His orbs fluttered open and the young teen started to move but was held strongly back. Just when his vision had finally cleared, covered a good smelling hand his eyes.

He didn't know why he had this carefree feeling, nor had he a clue if he should swallow the sweet liquid in his mouth or not. The violet-eyed tensai sensed the teen wouldn't swallowed the blood freely, pushed his tongue dominantly in the boy's mouth. Ryoma, surprised by the movement, swallowed accidentally. A little red river escaped his mouth and ran down teen's chin. Seiichi waited for the boy to swallow all the blood. His hands was still over his would-be-master's orbs.

* * *

The liquid send a warmth through his veins and the fire on his skin changed into a humming arch. It felt kinda funny but not hurtful enough to make him feel sick or weak. The scent, from the person beside or above him was, attracting. The person smelled like the fresh air and forest. Something Ryoma had never smelled before, something way too good. He wanted more, more from the warmth and more from the sweet liquid.

Whatever it was, it tasted surprisingly good.

* * *

Fuji jumped out of the window and landed softly onto the ground. The faces looked up but frowned as they saw only one person. Every guardian for their prince was there with only one exception. Atobe got shot today morning when they had run back from their master's house and through the city. He lay down in a safe place in the dark forest and got nursed by Kirihara.

"Why did it take so long and where are the other two?" Momo stood up from his comfortable place and walked with his friends closer to hear the bad news. The prodigy told them about his and his best friend's fear.

"So what do you think we should do? Seiichi is giving him his blood right now to lower the pain from the marks and to connect him with us." The air was a little heavy; it was highly dangerous to connect their prince with them now as they had seen the hunters running around the town with their sharp eyes. "Yukimura is giving his blood to Ryoma? Isn't it a bit too early for the connection between us and him? I-I mean what if the hunters notice him and we can't come early enough…and…" Oishi worried with his now pale face and golden eyes. His inner mother-instinct showed up.

"Oishi, calm down!" The redhead jumped over and kiss his lover on the cheek. A little hug from Eiji and everything was alright for Oishi. Well, almost alright. "That may be true but we need to bring Ryoma to Atobe! To get shot by these hunters must be painful and he is the only one who can heal little wounds in no time. So what now? Should we tell him tonight what we really are?" Oishi panicked again. Syusuke opened his sapphire blue eyes. The leader opened his mouth but didn't get the chance to answer. Three loud shots reached their ears and every gaze went to the window.

'_NO! SEIICHI! RYOMA!'_

Syusuke screamed into his friend's mind but didn't get any reply. The connection was weak. Was his best friend dead? No, that couldn't be! Seiichi was too strong as to get killed by… by what? What had shot him? Fuji, not able to wait, jumped up into the room and was followed by Tezuka, Sanada, and Eiji. The view was horrifying. The ground and walls were filled with blood. A creature with dark blue fur lay on the ground, the blood streamed out of him and a small boy, who was unconscious and full with blood splatter, sat near the door and was held by Ryoga. The man who stood on Ryoma's left side held a gun in his hands, ready to fire at the golden eyed monsters.

* * *

Nanjiroh wouldn't let them have his son. Ryoga lifted his baby brother in his arms and walked out of the room as unison growls warned him to do so. He gazed coldly at the golden-eyed males, turned around and walked out of the room. Fuji and Tezuka were the first ones to react.

The smaller brunette rushed to Nanjiroh and slapped the gun out of the hand but got shot on his left arm. He screamed from the agony and pressed his right hand into Nanjiroh's shoulder. The man hissed in pain, sweat and blood slid down the father's body. The old man had forgotten one important matter - Fuji wasn't as weak as a human but he knew that even a manbeast had a weakness.

* * *

The leader sprinted after Ryoga who waited for him with the prince still in his arms. The older brother injected Ryoma with something that smelled corrosive in Tezuka's now good nose. He sprinted forward, pushed the half-empty syringe out of Ryoga's hand but was careful enough not to hurt the prince. The marks of Ryoma's body started to glow in blood red and black, the boy stirred in Ryoga's arms. The brunette didn't like the grin on the older brother's face as he looked up from Ryoma. Only a few seconds later, when Ryoga stepped backwards, Tezuka understood what it was that felt so wrong. He was surrounded by hunters. Eight, maybe ten, hunters had their guns and swords directed at him. They waited for him to make the first move.

"I'll not give my baby brother to one of you blood sucking monster! Don't you dare to touch him ever again!" The emerald-haired male shouted angry and hateful. How could this monster with the dark blue hair dare to kiss his brother?

"Give. Him. To. Us. Now!" The eyes glowed golden. No one who had halfway all his senses would dare to take their master away - not without getting into a blood fight. Tezuka took one step, the hunter pressed the guns higher in the air, they would shoot if he would make one more step. The leader listened with his ears, focused at his surroundings. One manbeast from outside had sneaked inside the house and approached them.

A loud growl took the attention of all hunters for a second. A big manbeast with lightly brown fur and strong glowing golden eyes came out of Ryoma's room. The claws scratched the floor, his five tails waved over his back in a deadly warning. It bared his teeth and growled louder. Tezuka looked into the familiar pair of eyes. He had never seen his long-timed friend so… emotional - hate, fear, anger, pain, love, sadness - it was all in the eyes. When another manbeast stumbled out and stood next to the lightly brown one, his mood changed anew. Relief filled his heart. It had dark blue fur and the same eyes and aura around him as the first one.

'_Good, you two are still alive, Fuji and Yukimura. You two take Ryoma and leave afterwards. Take him to our hidden place, wait there and take the other manbeasts with you. I'll follow later. Don't let your guards down!'_

The two nodded, they had understood their leader's message through his thoughts. Tezuka faced the ten confused hunters. He wouldn't get out of it without serious injuries or maybe even without his death.

* * *

In the meantime had Eiji and Sanada met up with the other ones and couldn't believe how many manbeasts had already come. Inui, who had come with Tezuka, counted thirty-five manbeasts. They all were ready to fight for their new family member, for their love and live! "We should transform into our other form and bite them into pieces!" Marui snapped and some of the other boys mumbled in agreement. He spend too much time with Kirihara, the demon of the tribe.

"No, that would bring too much attention." Sanada tried to hold his shaking voice steady. His love had gotten shot and could be dead right now. He wanted to help but he couldn't! If he would run to Yukimura he would bring everyone in danger. He hoped his love was still alive. He prayed for it.

"We'll go inside in our human form, the problem will be that we don't know where the hunters stand and how many there are." Inui said and felt useless. It was a rare moment, he couldn't help with his data.

"There are seventeen hunters inside including Ryoga and Ryoma's father and at every outdoor stands at least one hunter." Kaidoh spoke up and appeared out of a corner with a little cat in his arms.  
Inui grinned. His love had heard it from the cat. Nice.

"Alright ask the cat if it can tell us how we get inside." Jackal hissed. The tension grew with every minute. Their leader and friends were inside fighting and they couldn't do anything other than standing here and wait. They needed to do something but what and how?

* * *

Seiichi and Syusuke bared their teeth, warned Ryoga to do something to their master and he would get eaten. They had pushed him into a corner of a dark room. Only two golden eyes glowed in the darkness and Ryoga started to fear with who or which he had started a fight with. His brother moaned, panted heavily and his body was far too hot.

Had the injection kicked in? It would protect his little brother and destroy the blood from the dark-haired manbeast inside of him. He had seen the red liquid which had run out of Ryoma's mouth. It would burn and hurt but the connection between them would break with it. Ryoma moaned again from the pain.

* * *

'_My body feels weak and everything is so hot. Something inside of me burns. I hear screams, shots and shouts. I smell blood and something metallic. My eyes hurt, I can't open them. What had happened? Where am I?'_

Ryoma tried to move but his body was immediately on fire. A heat wave rushed along his veins and he screamed from the pain. Tears rolled out of his closed eyes. He felt as if he was in the middle of a war in hell. His eyes opened like a lightning as another painful heat wave rolled through his body but his vision was unfocused and blurry from the pain and the tears. Why couldn't anybody help him? Didn't anybody hear his shrieks?

* * *

The two manbeasts stepped forward to Ryoga. The boy was shaking and staring into golden eyes. His body wouldn't listen to him; he stood where he had stayed only a minute ago. He couldn't move from panic and fright. His brother's marks glowed in a terrifying red and black, he screamed out of pain and tears ran down his chin.

Did it hurt so much to cut the one-sided connection between him and these monsters? Hadn't the hunters said that it would save him and bring him _a heavenly _feeling? His face saddened by the look of his brother. He was in so much pain, he had only wanted to help him! What went wrong?

* * *

Syusuke and Seiichi approached the human silently and were finally close enough to feel the shivers of the two siblings. Ryoma's shrieks stabbed their hearts.

What had this stupid, annoying guy done to him?

* * *

Ryoga looked up in shock when all of a sudden something warm licked his brother's face, licked the tears away. The older teen wanted to move, scream, yell or do anything which would let the two monsters disappear. The panic and the guilt rose up in him. What should he do and what had he done? The older brother slid down the wall and sat on the ground with his younger brother still in his arms. He gave up, he couldn't stop trembling and his own eyes began to water. Ryoga saw the will to fight and die for the human in his lap in these five-tailed foxes' eyes.

His father hadn't told him that these creatures were so protective over Ryoma. The brown haired creature started to change. The claws turned to hands and fingers; the fur disappeared and turned into smooth skin. The creature turned into a human with lightly brown hair.

* * *

Fuji moved closer to Ryoma, caressed his salty cheeks and took him from the weak brother's lap. The boy breathed heavily out by the sudden change of warmth and pressed himself against the good smell and soft heat. His heart was unsteady, his skin was completely covered with different, terrifying pattern in red, black and now golden too. Neither of the manbeasts understood what it meant.

'_You're with us, so nothing can happen to you now. I'll bring you out of here!'_

Ryoma heard the voice, ignored the fact about the voice coming from his head.

_'I'm with ...you? Who? You'll bring me out.. out of where?'_

The young teen thought with his aching head. He couldn't think further about that. His eyes were closed and the pain in his body got more and more unbearable. His skin burnt, his lungs were husky and it hurt to breathe, his head felt - once again - like something would explode inside of him and his heart stopped from time to time. Something was changing inside of him and he was certain it wasn't anything positive. Everything was dark and loud. It terrified him, he couldn't see and couldn't move. He heard more and more scary noises. Growls, shots, hisses, pained screams and loud crashing sounds.

'_You don't need to fear! Ryoma, please wake up and hold on. I know that you can hear me. Please, be strong for us!'_

Ryoma tried his best to obey and opened his eyes, he wanted to see what was going on around him but just when he opened his eyes, suddenly he felt light, all pain disappeared with in a second and everything was silent. It was calm, quietly and bright. The time froze for every manbeast. One last scream, one last thump from the heart and one last breath through his lungs.

Everyone stopped in their movement and listened.


	4. Friend Or Foe

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything!**

* * *

**_~~ Friend or Foe ~~_**

**_~~ 12. December, Morning ~~_**

They howled, growled, and screamed from the pain. They fell on their knees, their hands clenching their chests and throats, trying to hold their burning hearts. It couldn't be, could it? Was it too late? Did they come too late? The burning pain increased and they all hissed from the toxic feeling inside of them. They couldn't breathe neither could they move because of the horrible pain. It was as if they were inside of a tornado with fire around them. Everything moved in front of their eyes but they themselves weren't moving, their bodies ached and got weaker and weaker with every further minute. Their throats got dry and the air didn't got through to their lungs. The shots stopped outright and happy laughing filled the air. It couldn't mean something good for them.

"Ochi...bi…" Whispered Eiji out of breath. _Thump_. His heart thumped in an unsteady rhythm and slower than normally._ Thump_. Eiji wasn't the only one who had problems with breathing, moving and speaking._ Thump_. He looked through his pained, nearly closed eyes and saw most of the younger manbeasts already lying on the ground. Some had lost consciousness, others were breathing harshly through the teeth which were pressed hardly together to suppress the screams and hisses.

_Thump._Some others of the youngest generation were in the middle of transforming into their manbeast form because of the strong emotions._ Thump_.

"Ryo…ma!" Momo hissed at all fours and pressed his right hand against his chest. His friend needed his help but he couldn't move! Their little master was dying from something and they couldn't do anything. Helpless. The spiky-haired male hoped the three five-tailed ones could safe or at least weaken the pain from Ryoma and leave the house still alive. Every pain which Ryoma felt, felt every manbeast, too. Thanks to the new one-sided blood connection between Seiichi and him. Something small and dark showed up from out of nowhere and stood in the middle of the crowd. The manbeast who where still aware of their surroundings looked up in horror and fear.

* * *

Syusuke fell on his knees; the burning pain ran across his trembling body and the cheerful thoughts of all hunters in the house crashed into his head. Too loud, too hard to block them out of his mind and he got weaker with every minute. Where was his precious love? He put all his strength into the movement and opened his tightly closed, golden eyes a little bit. His vision was fuzzy and his hands were clenching his head - in the hope the heavy headache would go away. Where was his Ryoma? Syusuke viewed slowly around the room, he saw Seiichi curling at the ground in his manbeast form and staring to the left. Blood came out of his friend's wounds around his stomach, chest and shoulder.

The brown-haired boy followed the gaze and looked at a scene he didn't want to see. Ryoga sat at the wall and leaned against an old desk, held his baby brother once again tightly in his arms, after Syusuke had let Ryoma fallen down to the ground because of the sudden fire inside his body, and stroke protecting the green-tinted hair from his angel. Next to them was a hunter with a sharp sword, holding it in both hands and waiting for him and Seiichi to give up. If the pain weren't so bad and unbearable, the two tensais would have snapped their kitten out of Ryoga's hands anew and would have run away. But they could hardly move, their love was dying and they could feel every pain their master was going through. They needed to help and safe him!

'_Why is… he dying? What had happened? I can't move... or breathe!'_

Seiichi asked mentally. His voice wasn't more than a wheez even in his thoughts. It was hard to have even a clear thought.

'_We need… to get out of here! I'll take…him and you distract them!'_

Replied the boy and looked for a second in his friend's eyes. They nodded to each other in agreement and everything went on in high speed. They pulled their last power together, moved their hurting and aching bodies to fulfil the plan. Seiichi stood up in his manbeast form and growl loudly at the hunter with the sword who was surprised at the sudden movement and sound. The manbeast wobbled a bit, could hardly hold his balance but he let never the hunter escape out of his glowing eyes. The bluenette's body was on fire, ached and felt heavy as he had never felt before. His eyes were mostly blocked from a fog and his feet wouldn't hold him much longer if he wouldn't hurry to deflect the hunter and escape afterwards.

In the same moment was Syusuke by Ryoga and reached out, with his shaking and bloody hands, for Ryoma who lay still unconscious in his brother's lap. It was a plea, to give him the little boy to them and a promised that they would take care for him. But sadly Ryoga didn't understand it and clenched his little brother stronger. The brunette's sapphire blue eyes were open but nearly blind. Everything was a blur and waving in front of his eyes but the worst thing was - he was thirsty of blood and Ryoma's blood was the sweetest thing in the moment. He fought with every cell in his body against the desire to drink the younger sibling's red liquid. Ryoma got weaker with every moment, would be dead in a few minutes if no one would help him now! Syusuke's hands went a little bit further to the sitting boy. His breath was thin and stopped every then and now.

"Please… give him to us…and we'll promise you… to take very good ca…" Fuji broke up, wavered more and more with his now frail body. He stopped the incoming impact with his hands and landed on his very four. Cold sweat ran down his face from the effort. Why did his strength leave him when he needed it?

Ryoga looked shocked at the young man in front of him. The voice was rough, not more than a whisper and his body was ready to collapse but even then, the manbeast hadn't given up yet to take Ryoma away. Why was his small brother so important to them? What the hell was going on here? When his father told him about creatures who wanted to have his baby brother, he hadn't further listened. His decision was clear – everyone who wanted to take his little brother was an enemy to him! But were these creatures really the foe? He began to doubt. He saw the male's eyes; they were filled with love when he looked to Ryoma. What did they want to do with him?

* * *

Tezuka grabbed his shirt over his chest and tried to breathe deeply and steady. His all so emotionless face was now a pained and worried one. Pained from the fire inside of him and worried for Ryoma who had this pain and lead them to all manbeasts. Since he was bounded to Seiichi, he could understand the thoughts and emotions of every manbeast – well, if the manbeasts let it happen and wouldn't block the connection.

The hunters grinned joyfully at the sight of the unfocused leader of the manbeasts. They came closer to the leader, totally concentrated at the one right before them. They made their guns ready and shot at Tezuka. He screamed from the sudden pain and wanted to attack his chasers but something dark brown crossed his way. The humans hadn't seen the other manbeast which had tiptoed with all his strength and golden glowing eyes right to them. The creature jumped from behind at one of the hunter and bit him in the neck. The first hunter was immediately dead and the other nine were shocked at the sudden change of situation. Some of the guns fell out of their hands while the other hunters were in a trance or deep shock – like a statue. Their faces turned from white to blue and back to white.

The dark brown furred manbeast went to them and killed one after another. Tezuka tightened the grip around his left thigh and right arm where he had gotten shot. He was too weak to help but he asked himself how this manbeast could move so freely without much pain and an aching heavy body. Most of the shots missed their goal or brushed the fur. The merciless manbeast jumped once more, pinned the last alive hunter to the ground, scratched his back which ruined the clothes, made the back bleed, and bit with his long fangs in the neck to kill him. The ally let go of the man and blood streamed out of the beast's mouth. The creature changed to human.

"Thanks… Yanagi. How are Atobe and Kirihara?" The leader sat down and sighed out loud. He was at the end with his power. "Look for Yukimura and Fuji, help Ryoma!" He breathed deeply in and pointed with his unharmed hand where he had seen his two friends the last time. Yanagi opened his brown eyes for a little moment, closed them anew and walked to his friend.

"Atobe is doing fine. Kirihara is outside and helping our family. He wanted to help, I have brought him with me. Here. It'll ease the pain. When we're in a good condition, maybe our master will be too." Yanagi held out a little silver bottle which Tezuka took with sceptic. It smelled ugly and strange - something from Inui. Should he really drink the substance? The dark brown-haired male disappeared and was on his way to help the other three.

* * *

A pained, shrill squeak ran out of Seiichi's mouth when the hunter cut him along his shoulder and arm. The cut wasn't deep but it was deep enough to let little red rivers run out of the long wound. The foe smirked hateful and full of amusement. How he loved it to kill these monsters. He could take revenge for his little, dead daughter after so many years. "Is it all you got? It seems like the toxic injection starts to work inside of the little boy. It's truly a pity that we needed to poison him to get ride of all of you shitty monsters. Well, couldn't help it!" Ryoga's eyes widen by the sentence. Had he heard it right? Had this person just said…

"You have what?" He yelled and looked shocked and deadly angry to the killer of his baby brother. The older brother embraced Ryoma stronger, kissed the sweaty temple, sat him carefully between the wall and desk and stood up. The brown-haired teen was immediately up of his two feet but everything wavered too much and he couldn't view where the male exactly went and to his surprised, he felt a body next to him who supported him and held him up. Syusuke looked up, and saw, trough his blurry vision, the person - Ryoga.

"If you want to kill them so badly then have more courage to do it with your own hands and not with a shitty trick where other innocent people suffer, you bastard!" Ryoga screamed at him with teary eyes. Did his father know about the toxic? Had he known it and allowed it? True or lie? It couldn't be true... They had been a happy family a week ago. His father wouldn't allow a person to kill... No! It couldn't be!

The manbeast leaned stronger against him but he tried to stand straight even with the heavy weight. Seiichi took the chance as the hunter was completely focused on the older sibling who supported surprisingly his best friend, and jumped with his aching body as good as he could to the unfocused man. The manbeast bit in the head of him and crashed it between his fangs. It was the revenge for poisoning his master. The blood ran out of his mouth, his teeth were bloody red, his tails were still waving around his body from anger and his eyes were glowing in a horrifying color of gold.

'_Ryoma, please! We need you! You can't die, please! Say something, do something, let us hear you! Please!' _

He closed the distance between him and the other two. Syusuke and Ryoga fell down as the human couldn't hold the weight from the manbeast in human form anymore. Seiichi wanted to help but also his power had its limit. It gave a loud, dull sound as the bluenette made an impact with the floor. A dark brown haired young man supported the two falling boys right in time. Dark brown eyes opened and Yanagi spoke with his monotone voice. "We need to hurry. He isn't dead but he'll be in a few minutes if you two don't hurry and give him enough blood to survive."

"G-Give him your blood?" The older brother stuttered, looked with wide eyes at his little brother and to the bloody manbeast next to him. His Ryoma should drink the blood from a creature like this again? Yanagi sat Fuji carefully down and took something out of his jacket pocket. A little silver bottle – a colored liquid swam inside of it. He pressed softly the bottle against Fuji's mouth, the liquid streamed in the mouth and he leaned his friend's head with his own hand a little back. The brown-haired tensai drank the refreshing drink gratefully and breathed in and out after the bottle left his lips.

'_Taste pretty good and it's refreshing. I can feel my strength coming back and the pain gets numb.'_

Yanagi walked over to Seiichi who changed into human form and lay with his back onto the ground, with a bloody face and clothes. The dark brown-haired boy crouched over the blunette and put the bottle carefully, just as he had done by the other brunette, on the red lips. The weaker one took two small sips, turned his head as soon as possible away from the strange liquid. His strength came back but the aftertaste was disgusting.

'_How the hell can you call it tasty?'_

His question was ignored by Fuji who had Ryoma in his arms and cuddled his face against the little boy's hair. The golden eyes closed with a gentle and lovely expression and returned to blue. Their master was back in their arms where he belonged to and the first group of hunters was already dead. His arm which got shot by the stupid father of Ryoma wasn't anymore as painful as before and the other wounds were only some cuts. He would drink some blood this night and the wounds would heal a bit sooner. It would take two or three days, still better than three or four weeks.

"We should hurry and run before the second herd of hunters find us. The others are waiting outside for you." Yanagi took the bottle back into his pocket and they headed to the window with their lovely master. They needed to hurry if they wanted to safe his and their own life. Ryoma breathed slowly and unsteady, his body was unmoveable and only small pants rushed out of his mouth. They wanted to jump down the window just when the three plus Ryoma were stopped by Ryoga.

"W-Wait, please! I-I don't want to leave my brother. I won't do anything to you so…please let me follow you and help to safe him." The three looked at each other, Yanagi jumped outside first – he was only a three-tailed one, it wasn't his decision to let the boy follow them or not- Seiichi waited for a minute and nodded with Syusuke in unison. Ryoga's thoughts were '_clean'_. He really only wanted to help his little brother. The violet-eyed male jumped out of the window after his blue-eyed friend did and walked with him to the other nearly thirty manbeasts.

* * *

Ryoga, confused if he was allowed to follow or not, took a knife out of his pocket, ran out of the room and heard a quiet moan coming out of Chibisuke's room. He took the knife in his right hand and tiptoed in the room. At the first sight, the room looked truly as if a massacre had taken place. The walls and the floor were full with blood splatter and the furniture was mostly destroyed but Ryoga saw the little things which were still undamaged. The big brother took hurriedly some clothes out of Ryoma's wardrobe, put them in the bag under Ryoma's bed and walked out of the room with his knife in the hand. It was the moment when he saw his father on the wall with a serious wound on his neck and shoulder.

"D-Dad?" He went slowly to the man who moaned anew out of agony and his eyes opened slowly.

"Ry-Ryoga? Oh thank god, they haven't killed you. Y-You need t…" Nanjiroh hissed from another wave of pain in his shoulder and breathed heavily. "Run!"

"Dad, did you know what they had planned for Ryoma? Did you know about the plan.. about killing Chibisuke?" The boy's eyes were sharp and full with fear. Ryoga waited eagerly. He stood only 3 feet away from his father.

"I….." Nanjiroh broke up and his eyes fluttered closed. "I'm sor…." Nothing more, he fell silent. Ryoga let the bag out of his hands and grabbed his cell phone out of his pants pocket. He typed the number of the ambulance and ordered them to hurry. Afterwards he hung up, cut off the woman on the other side of the phone and touched his father on the forehead.

"I'll not leave Ryoma alone, I need to go now. Please forgive me for leaving you here. Goodbye, father." Ryoga stood up in a rush, took the bag with Ryoma's clothes once more in his hand, ran down the stairs and quietly along the floor. The hunters which had held guard on every door were already dead.

'_Must have done the boy with the dark brown hair but where is the leader from the manbeasts? Wasn't he at the floor when the hunters had surrounded him?'_

A step from behind took his attention and he turned around.

* * *

'_Ryoma, please! We need you! You can't die, please! Say something, do something, let us hear you! Please!' _

A voice reached him in his deep sleep. Who was it? It sounded so familiar and gentle. He had heard it before but whenever he tried to think, whom the voice belonged to, the pain and the intense headache would come back to him. It was easier to rest in the easiness as to go back to the agony and pain. But it was pretty lonely in nowhere which made the voice a welcoming guest to him. Who called him?

'_I want to move but can't. I want to shout but no tone comes out of my mouth. My throat is dry, I'm thirsty. I have not enough strength to move. Help me!'_

The boy screamed in his mind to the stranger but as sudden as the voice came, did it disappear again.

'_NO, WAIT! DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE!'_

The pain hit him right in the face and his heart thumped hardly against his chest that the small boy feared it would break through his chest. His head was full with noises anew and from time to time flickered memories in front of his mind.

_'Golden eyes? Fur? Soothing words? Warmth? What does it all mean?'_

One more hit in the face and Ryoma screamed from the fire inside his body. He was back in reality.

* * *

Seiichi and Syusuke stopped abruptly in their movements and stared down to their screaming Ryoma. Had they heard it right?  
As if their master wanted to prove them right, the body in the brunette's arms arched his back and moaned loudly. The manbeasts stood up and their heads turned like a lightning to the heavy breathing kid. The boy pressed himself closer to the warmth, his hands grabbed Fuji's bloody shirt until the bones of his hands turned whiter as they already were.

"He's still alive!" They all cheered and ran to their family member. Forgotten was the small pain. Inui and Yanagi spoke with one another while the other ones stared with sparkling eyes at Ryoma.

"Everyone can move without much pain so my Inui Juice Special Deluxe had worked, IData…" Inui scribbled in high speed his newest ideas and results in his book which he had with him all the time.

"I feel sorry for them if they knew what they had drunk earlier but it's a good thing our little one is still alive." Yanagi said with his close eyes and walked to his friends. Tezuka came around the corner and frowned. His whole folk was way too happy right now. Even if the little boy would open his eyes, there was still the chance of him dying this evening. They couldn't let their guard down!

"Everyone, we need to hurry!" He spoke up and broke the noises. His friends and family looked at him with smiles and grins, happiness in their eyes. He couldn't stand it when they didn't note the seriousness of the situation.  
"More hun…" he didn't come further as he was cut of by two happy and cheerful tensais who had read his thoughts.

"C'mon, Mitsu, the biggest problem is cleared. We have him and we'll bring him to Atobe's mansion. We'll spoil him until he never wants to leave us! Problem solved." Syusuke opened his eyes and showed his icy blue eyes. He pushed the boy a little up, Ryoma's head lay on his unharmed shoulder. Fuji carried him carefully and lovely like a princess. Tezuka frowned more as he heard his pet name instead of his respectful name.

"The old and ruined building is not the right place for him, don't you think so too, Mitsu?" Seiichi smiled and ran his hand along Ryoma's lightly bloody hair and face - a gentle and soft touch which brought a soft moan from the sleeping boy. Tezuka got angrier at these two. He needed to do something to stop them before they read his mind when he thought about them or Keig…Stop! The tensais' smile widened.

"Inui, give Ryoma something from the…liquid. It should help him to breathe clearer and steadier." Inui put his little notebook back in his pocket but didn't take out the bottle.

"It's a bad idea to give him something which is specially made for manbeasts, Kirihara. The chance that he will get better lies by 3.27%. We should give him our blood, it should fully sufficient if my research is correct and…." Inui crossed his arms and looked at the whimpering boy in Fuji's hands. "…we should hurry to do it before the poison takes any more effect."

"There is only half of the dose inside of him, it shouldn't be too effective. I had slapped the syringe out of the boy's hand before everything could get inside of Ryoma's body." Tezuka talked mostly to Inui. He wanted to take his new master in the arms but the overprotective lovers seemed to think different. They backwards and Fuji nearly squashed the poor boy while Seiichi made a step forward to shield his love. The group went silent but after a little moment they all giggled at the lovers' scene. The leader could clearly see the troublesome future. He didn't want to think what will happen with Ryoma and these overprotective and jealous lovers in the future. A headache made its way up in his head.

"Alright, all guardians will meet up at Atobe's mansion. Sanada, Yanagi, you two will go to the old building and bring Atobe back to his mansion. The leftovers will hurry back to their daily life. Dismissed!" The manbeasts sprinted away in different directions, left alone the guardians and Ryoma. Just then Seiichi noticed another thing, the brother wasn't here yet.

'_What is with Ryoga? It takes him pretty long to come outside.'_

Sirens approached the street. It would be filled here with policemen soon.

'_We have no more time to wait for him and risk our lives! We'll see him some other time!'_

They ran out of the place in full speed and stopped only as they saw Atobe's mansion - their new home for the next time.

* * *

Ryoga turned around and looked in one of the hunters' faces who had survived the hell-like massacre. The man held a gun in his left hand, his right arm was bitten off and blood ran down his entire body. His expression was it which caught the boy's attention. It was hate, pure hate, which filled the man's face. "You'll go and follow them. Befriend with them and let your pretty brother drink the substance…." The man said and pressed a little glass bottle in Ryoga's free hand. "….or I'll kill you and your father!"

Ryoga swallowed hard but even after repeating the action, his throat felt dry. Cold sweat ran down his spine and his head was all fuzzy. It was a joke, wasn't it? He should kill his brother or his father and he, himself, would die?

'_What do I do now? __Ryoma?'_


	5. The Awakening

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything!**

* * *

**_~~ The Awakening ~~_**

**_~~ 12. December, Afternoon ~~_**

The walls and the furniture were luxurious and big, just like every part of Atobe's mansion. The moon shone, through the amazing huge window and the expensive curtains, directly to the double bed. The young teen looked even smaller in the too big bed and was as pale as the white pillows. He slept restless and tossed from one side to an other, his face was wet from the cold sweat, just like his body but his breathing was quieter and steadier than before. Five pairs of caring eyes looked at the small figure from all around, covered in the shadow, and watched the blanket over the chest from the boy to rise and fall in an regularly rhythm. "He sleeps since we had brought him here. Is he really alright? He's moving pretty wildly; maybe we should wake him up. What if…."

"Oishi! He'll be alright, nya! Our little one had drunk the blood from Fuji and he'll wake up. See, the marks on his body have disappeared and won't come back soon, thanks to Yukimura's and Fuji's blood. Besides we all feel stronger now, it's a good sign. He is only recovering, nya." Eiji whispered in an exciting but low tone, he didn't want to disturb the sleep of their little one. The red head sat down on his lover's lap and kissed him lovely on the cheek, the bowl-head relaxed under this touch and blushed.

"There is a 97.51% chance that he'll wake up at dawn." Inui mumbled more to himself than to his friends, pushed his glasses a little up with his index finger and began to scribble in his textbook again.

"See, Inui never false in his calculations and when our Ryo needs blood, we're enough here to give it to him!" The cat-like boy jumped up from his boyfriend's lap with a loud laugh. The too energetic boy was shut up by Momo's hand; Inui viewed over his book to the teen in the bed and stopped writing while Sanada, who sat on the right side of the bed next to Ryoma, dipped the cloth in the cold water and laid it back on their master's forehead.

Ryoma had a little fever and was mumbling some broken words from time to time but his condition got better. "He sleeps deeply but you shouldn't make so much noise. If Yukimura and Fuji would know you had nearly woken him up, they…" Sanada stood up from the bed and was cut off as Momo and Eiji interrupted him. The two jumped on the bed next to the called boy.

Momo took carefully Ryoma's left hand in his and stroke soothing with his fingertip over the skin while Eiji had made himself comfortable and cuddled gently with his nose along the sleeping teen's temple and cheek. The skin from their new family member was pure and soft, even with the sweat on it. "Keep cool, Sanada! The two sadists went hunting with Tezuka, so no need to worry. We can tease our little Ryo a bit more!" Momo giggled and wanted to pinch the nose of the little prince as two figures burst the door open and walked inside the room.

"Who, do you said, is on the hunt right now? And may I ask what you're doing with **our** lover?" Fuji's sapphire blue eyes were open and his smile was creepier than normal. It was a sadistic smile which showed everybody how close the tensai floated on the surface. He walked over to the bed – Eiji and Momo rolled from it, they didn't like the gaze of their blue-eyed friend – and sat next to the still sleeping teen with dark green hair. The boy moaned, turned his head around and the cloth at his forehead slid onto the bed. A water drop ran down his face, then his throat and landed on the pillow. The sight from Syusuke got softer, almost lovely and caring. "And since when do you have the permission to call him '_Ryo'_?" The amethyst violet eyes pierced to the two - now quietly shaking - boys. He walked also to his love on the other side of the bed where Syusuke sat.

"Y-You're back already? I-I hadn't heard you. Really hadn't!" Momo stuttered while Eiji shivered, they took one more step back – straight to the window. Tezuka came through the door with his lover, Atobe, who leaned against him to steady himself. Kaidoh and Yanagi followed. The last two took place on a couch near the window and Atobe and Tezuka walked carefully to the bed. Their bandaged wounds were still bleeding but the pain was nothing more than a small hum. The two sadistic lovebirds looked only at their Ryo; everything else was unimportant and got totally ignored. Eiji and Momo breathed in relief; they had escaped the claws from the two dangerous manbeasts.

"As I see it, we're complete. Let's start to discuss the next step." The stoic leader's voice filled the quiet room. Tezuka glanced to the three on the bed with a frown. He hadn't had a chance for now to get near the boy without Fuji or Yukimura to be around and he began to doubt he would ever get a chance. He wanted to hold the kid at least once in his arms. He wanted to protect him. Why? Kunimitsu had no clue why, he just wanted to.

The two tensais were so fixated on the pale boy; they didn't even notice that their faces were completely different than usual. The eyes were open and shining with joy, the mouth was formed to a real gentle smile and the movements matched Ryoma's perfectly. They moved whenever the little boy changed his position, fearing they might hurt him. It was a happy scene and a small blush crossed Tezuka's cheeks. It was too bad, he didn't saw the strangers inside his head. Atobe and his lover sat down at the end of the bed and the meeting started.

* * *

In the meantime, somewhere in a hotel room, lay a young man lifeless in a puddle of blood. It was silent after the people left. The humans from the hotel celebrated their victory in the casinos and bars. Another young man, manbeast, got killed by them. A light flashed up and was followed by a loud crash from the lightning. The thunder and the strong storm howled along the big town but the people didn't notice it. The feelings were highly filled with proud, joy, and revenge. "It's too bad that the bastard hadn't said anything about the last master! We could be on our way now and kill him!" A young man with long, blond hair hissed. He cleaned his gun and put it back into his right place.

"Lloyd, calm down! We'll find him soon enough and when I have him in my hands, the monsters will be finally dead!" The voice was icy cold and rough. Another man stood up from his chair, went through the blood and threw his cigarette onto the ground. "I can feel the thrill! I have waited for this moment long enough!"

"Cole, we can't wait any longer! The hunters in Japan are already dead; these monsters will kill my entire family in Japan! We nee…" Another man said but was cut off by his leader.

"The hunters are weaklings! We, the group of four people – the Shadows, are much stronger! But back to your argument. Everyone?" Cole asked, stopped in his movement but didn't look his ally. The third man stopped and took a few steps backwards to let his leader enough free room. He didn't understand what Cole meant, so he waited and didn't say anything. "Was every hunter in Japan killed, Chorne?" He repeated his last sentence in a quiet tone. The man named Chorne twitched as it was never good when the leader was pissed off.

"Mostly of them. The message reached us only five minutes ago. Only Nanjiroh, his oldest son and Rik had survived the attack." The leader let the news deepen in his head and began to giggle. Nanjiroh was a very good hunter and his sons would be very good too in a few years. Cole had offered Nanjiroh to take him in his group but the man said he wanted to live a normal life with his family. Maybe he would take his offer now, after he had seen his family is in a high risk of death. Something made him suspicious about his report after a few minutes. "What about the youngest son of Nanjiroh – the leader of the hunters from Japan?"

"He's the one." Were the only words Chorne brought out of his mouth.

Silence.

"Call Akito and let him fly to Japan. He'll handle the situation there!" Cole snapped and gritted his teeth. The youngest one was the last master. The one who he thought might be one of the best hunters. Shit! The only choice which was left was to make the youngest also a shadow. He left the hotel with his two men with an agony face. It didn't go like he planed it, nevertheless he wouldn't give up. He had waited too long for such a chance and Akito, the youngest and most important shadow, would bring the boy to him without harming him too much.

**_~~ 13. December, Dawn ~~_**

"FINALLY! We have finally finished another boring meeting!" Yowled Momo and stretched his body with a loud yawn. Prompt came a hiss from the other corner followed with a tease.

"Fshuu, shut up, you idiot! You're annoying, you'll wake him up." The '_snake'_ hissed to his _'oh so dear friend' _and the fight began. They grabbed each other's shirt, pressed their heads strongly together and cursed at one another.

"C'mon Viper! Is that all you have?" Momo yelled after a few minutes. He wanted to punch his friend but two freezing glares stopped their movements and they turned around. Ice blue and dark violet eyes pierced them with a silent but horrifying warning. The two fighting boys let go and walked slowly to the corner where the rest of the manbeasts stood.

"You have some nerves, Momo. You don't want to wake Ryoma up, do you?" The boys shivered by the cold tone and Seiichi smirked at the glory reaction. The two would hopefully never fight again when Ryoma was sleeping. It could bring problems if they were fighting and would transform in front of him while he was awake.

"Y-Yukimura, no, we would never wake him up. Never!" Momo tried to get out of his horrible situation and took one more step back from the two tensais. They were still lying on the bed next to the sleeping boy and touched his hair, face and hands. It wouldn't be a wonder if the boy would get cockier as he already was by all the spoiling. The boy was quieter and slept peacefully after Syusuke and Seiichi had '_spoken'_ to him through the thoughts.

"That's good to hear." The blue-eyed tensai smiled, closed his eyes and focused on his master again. His fingertips stroke softly the right cheek, went along the chin and then to the lips. He touched the outlines of the lovely pale lips and let his eyes wander around the boy's body - he would like to see the half-naked body under the blankets.

They had stripped the bloody clothes off of the boy - left his underwear untouched - and covered his body with two blankets. It was cold outside and the snow was almost a heavy snowstorm, even the manbeasts couldn't get out of the mansion but that wasn't a problem. There were enough food and water for the younger ones and enough blood for the older ones, because some maids were also in the house. In the meantime played Seiichi with the sweated green hair, touched the left hand with his fingertips from his other hand and sniffed the attracting smell on the boy's neck. The boy was deeply asleep but sometimes he shivered and moaned from the light pleasure. Ryoma's dreams often changed from a cat to tennis, back to the cat and every few times surprisingly to them.

'_One bite, one lick, only one sip of his blood and body. God, since when am I so obsessed over something?'_

Seiichi thought and kissed the boy's temple.

'_Maybe since you know that he will never be yours?'_

Came the sing-sang answer from the brown-haired teen who was cheerful and happy.

'_He is dreaming about me, too, you know? So it means he can still choose me!'_

"If you two want to fight then do it outside but do not dare to do any harm to Ryoma! You can take the snake and the punk with you!" Atobe interrupted their stare competition and sat down on the boy's right side, close to Fuji. A loud growl escaped Fuji's and Yukimura's mouth as the diva tried to touch their master. The wounded man stared at them and froze in his movement. "You know, Ore-sama don't want him to make him his mate. I have already Mitsu, so don't worry." The purple-haired male spoke carefully and quietly. It was dangerous to make a manbeast angry if it was about the mate. The air got creepy and thin. Dominance filled the room.

Tezuka went closer to Atobe to protect him if something would happen, Sanada walked quickly to his one-sided love, Yanagi pushed Oishi, Eiji, Momo and Kaidoh out of the room – Eiji had too sensitive ears, Kaidoh, Oishi and Momo would only hurt themselves because they were too weak – and Inui stood where he was and scribbled like crazy in his book. As everybody was in his position, a moan interrupted them, someone would be awake in only a few seconds. The heads shot to the bed and Ryoma's eyelids started to flutter. The room was silent and everybody held their breath. The two tensais forgot about the incident a moment ago and turned back to their love.

"Good morning, Ryoma." Seiichi kissed the half-asleep boy's left eyelash and held the left hand with his tender fingers. A relieved sigh came out of Ryoma's mouth and the boy turned to his left side to the welcoming warmth, not ready to open his eyes completely and wake up. The small teen felt sweaty and his body felt funny. Little lightnings flashed across his body, it didn't hurt but it felt like little needles poke him all over his body. The scent, which came from the east side, smelled unbelievable intoxicated and the soft touch over his eyelashes was relaxing. He felt safe and loved – a feeling which he hadn't felt for a long time. Ryoma pushed himself further to Seiichi, for Syusuke's disappointment, and snuggled his head against the dark-haired teen's soft chest.

'_Hee, seems like my chest is more comfortable than yours, Syusuke.' _

He laughed and the brown-haired male got angrier, glanced sharply at his smirking friend.

'_You bet? He felt good when he was onto my lap!'_

They stared furiously at each other but the stare-contest lasted only a few seconds because Ryoma's thought rolled between their conversation.

'_Comfortable? Chest? Bet? Shut it, I don't want to wake up.'_

A frown formed up at their faces and the two giggled.

'_Ryo, open your eyes. Let me see the beautiful orbs of yours.'_

'_Syusuke, stop wooing my lover! At least, let him wake up!'_

The dark green-haired teen turned on his back, opened his eyes completely and stared at the ceiling.

'_Seems like our connection is steady. He can hear us even if we're in human form.'_

'_Probably from the blood exchange.'_

The other manbeasts came closer, viewing curiously at their little one. "Finally awake, Ochibi?" Eiji giggled and jumped with full power on the bed, which made everyone on the bed waver a bit. The redhead, Oishi, the viper and the idiot had come inside the room anew after Eiji had heard the moan from his new brother/friend. Eiji knelt next to Ryoma's feet and had his joyful cat-like look on his face.

"E-Eiji, you shouldn't wake him up so roughly!" Oishi was – once again – in mother-load and sat down at the edge of the very big bed, too. Kaidoh hissed like a snake as always while the others – Sanada, Tezuka, Atobe, Yanagi, Inui and Momo stood around the king-sized bed. Ryoma heard voices but ignored them as he tried to remember the last things which had happened. His hand covered his eyes for the moon light.

'_I got home, went in the bathroom and saw….THE TATTOO!'_

Ryoma shot up in a sitting position and stared with wide eyes at his right arm, the left one, his right shoulder and searched further along his left shoulder and chest.  
But there was nothing, only his pale and sweaty skin. How could this be? He put his hands in front of his face and stared at them as if something might appear if he looked long enough at the place. But even after two minutes of staring nothing showed up. What had happened? Was it all a dream just like….

'_Golden eyes, sharp claws and teeth, long fur and many, screaming voices,…black marks on my body…Shots, growls and shrieks. Blood, so much blood.'_

His heart pounded loud and wild in his chest, his breath was fast from the shock and everything was blurry. Nothing matched to his dreams or fantasies. But was it all a hallucination? The manbeasts stood awkwardly around their master. They knew what he was searching for and Tezuka played with the thought about telling the boy everything.

Pro: The snowstorm was too strong; Ryoma couldn't run away and leave them midsentence.  
Contra: Ryoma could unexpectedly, now that he had been marked by more than one of the five-tailed ones, order them to leave the house. He was the master and he could control the manbeasts inside of them which meant – he could bring them to stop in their movement and actions or order them to move away. They all were quiet, waiting for someone other to speak up and do something about the strange situation they were in right now. Tezuka, as the leader, decided to speak to the teen, sat on Ryoma's left side, almost pushed Yukimura out of the way, and got a warning look from the dark blue-haired boy. Ryoma was still checking his body for any suspicious black marks and only noticed his surroundings when a voice called his name.

"Ryoma, everything is fine. You don't need to fear." The boy looked in surprise at his new friend's faces and stared at them confusedly with big eyes and mouth slightly open. Seiichi and Syusuke chuckled at the picture and approached their master, while some other people smiled gently and happily. The smaller tensai took Ryoma's right hand, kissed it soothingly with love and nipped on the boy's neck. On the other side was the bluenette, turning Ryoma's head to the left and kissing him lightly.

The green-haired boy reacted out of instinct. His mind was still trying to cooperate with his body and deal with the fantasies. The many touches over his chest and face were too much. The caressing felt heavenly and the heat which ran across his body was driving him wild – his face was red like a tomato. He licked with his tongue against the lips over his own ones, tried to deepen the kiss. Ryoma's eyes were half-lidded; he saw the different looks from his new friends but couldn't stop. Most of them were trying not to laugh out loud and some others had an expression between surprised and worried. Someone cleared his throat and all the manbeasts, except Seiichi and Syusuke, looked at Tezuka. The leader seemed to be somehow angry.

"Fuji! Yukimura! Stop trying to seduce Ryoma, right now!" The tensais glared up, stopped to touch the boy and sat up straight on the bed. Ryoma, who had fully leaned against the two big chests, fell down on the pillows with a little surprised scream. Eiji and Momo started to burst out laughing by the scene. The two sadists viewed at their kitten. "Good. Ryoma, how are you feeling? Everything alright?" Tezuka asked and stroke along his master's left cheek. Keigo suppressed the need to slap the hand of his lover away and glanced in golden cat-like eyes.

"Y-Yeah, I feel fine….er…Where…?" Ryoma scanned the luxurious room. It wasn't his room but where was he?

"Ore-sama has allowed you to stay at my house, be happy!" Atobe made his glamorous and hilarious hair flip, Eiji and Momo were still on the ground laughing their souls out, Oishi was worried over the boy - could have hit his head by the sudden impact, Inui had stopped to write some data in his textbook, Kaidoh walked out of the room, while Sanada, Yanagi and Tezuka looked calmly the room.

'_Why am I here? Since when and where is my family?'_

As if the questions – if he was still alright or if he was maybe crazy by these unbelievable dreams – weren't enough, no, now he had even more questions. Little Ryoma didn't know what was going on since he had started to live in the creepy and abnormal city, everything was … somehow wrong. "Some strangers had broken inside your home. We have rescued you out of there, Ochibi!" Eiji had finally stopped laughing and hopped on the bed anew, landed in front of Ryoma only a few centimetres away from his friend's face. Ryoma twitched deeper into the pillows as not to kiss the boy but the redhead didn't get his intention and got closer. The red head sniffed along his hair and grinned.

_'He isn't seriously sniffing on me, is he?'_

"Ne, ne, are you hungry? I can make you something delicious, nya! Like a special omelette!" And without a warning, the young male got into a bone-breaking hug by his friend but was released shortly after as the jumping boy went outside and dragged his lover plus Momo with him. There were only seven in the peaceful room. The emerald-haired teen was still confused and lightly shocked by the sudden comfort. It was too long ago when his family had really taken care over him.

"You'll get used to his necessary to cuddle with everything which is cute." Sanada said and a blush formed itself over his nose and along his cheeks. It was way too late before he recognized what exactly he had just said. "I-I'll look for the three in the kitchen." He went - ran - out of the room with laughers hearing behind him. It was very rare to see a flushed Sanada.

"So, I think we should let Ryo get some more rest before breakfast is ready. Let's go, everyone." Tezuka couldn't help but let a very small smile fill his face as he looked at the cute yawing Ryoma - he looked a bit like a cat. Everyone was on their way out, even Fuji and Yukimura – their leader threatened them with Inui juice and no more wasabi . as an important question crashed in his head.

"W-What about my family? Karupin?" They glanced to their leader, still, Tezuka wasn't expecting to reply. It was the first time, since Ryoma was awake, that Inui spoke up. "Don't worry, your mother is in America, your brother and father are safe, too, and there is a 100% chance that I have something good for you which will let you relax." He whistled and a little furball came in and meowed cheerfully. Kaidoh had brought it with him.

"Karupin!" Karupin sprinted, without wasting a single look to the others, to the bed and into his master's arms. He began to purr louder when Ryoma cuddled him and let him lick his face. Happily, his cat and family were safe, he let himself fall asleep. The group left with smiles on their faces. A good mood would be needed if they would explain the reality to Ryoma.

* * *

"So what is your answer, Ryoga?" Rik hissed from the pain. He hated the hospitals!

"…."

"So you want me to kill your father while he is in coma or should I do it when he is awake?" The man didn't get any answer. The boy let him lose every nerve!

"HEY! Are you listening?" He slapped the boy hard in the face. Nothing came out of the mouth, not a single scream nor a shout or any other action.

"….it…" It was only a breath. The man threatened him and wanted him to repeat it.

"I'll do it." A pray, a tear and feelings of guilt hummed inside of the teen. He would betray his beloved little brother.

'_But I'll try to make a deal with them. Maybe they know what I can do. __Old man told me where I can find them!' _

**_~~ 13. December, Afternoon ~~_**

He had slept all the time and had missed the delicious meal from Eiji. The redhead was disappointed about his little one missing his lovely omelette but after he had tried once to wake the boy up, he had learned his lesson. He had forgotten the overprotective tensais. The group was in the big living room and relaxed themselves. It was a hard day and the wounds were still recovering, Momo and Kaidoh had a fight for the tenth time today. They got louder, hit and screamed at each other. They fought like wild animals and their eyes began to glow golden.

"Kaidoh! Momoshiro! Stop it immediately! Ryoma is still sleeping above us!" But Oishi's plead was ignored by the boys and every other try to calm them down was in avail because the tragedy had already started. The two transformed, let their tails waving above their heads and fought. The other had pressed against the wall; it was useless to stop them, be it in their human form or in their manbeast form. It didn't take long before the room was a totally mess and a whim stopped the time.

'_Oh no, please don't let it be true!'_

Was in everybody's head but it didn't stop the boy with green tinted hair to shake, to cry, to be shocked, to be frightened or to tremble and freeze. The eyes were opened widely, the lips shaking – not knowing what to say – and his feet wouldn't move. Ryoma didn't believe what he saw. There were exactly the monsters of his dreams. It was real and not a dream. Not a fantasy or something near that. The creatures which had chased and closely eaten him up were right in front of him! "Ryo, no, wait! Please!"

'_Don't run away. We won't do any harm to you! Promise!'_

"Ryoma, let us explain, please."

"Ochibi, it isn't as scary as it looks like, nya!"

'_You know our true self, so please listen. You can't turn back anyway. We need you, please calm down and listen!'_

The fear and the will to survive held him awake but his body wouldn't move – the same feeling like a few days ago. Something held him at his place and didn't let him go.

'_RUN! RUN, GOD DAMNED! MOVE YOUR BODY, YOU IDOT!'_

He scrolled at himself. Syusuke and Seiichi approached him very slowly, saying soothing words through their new mind-connection but when they were four feet away from the boy, Ryoma broke the connection unconsciously, rushed out of the house and disappeared into the strong snowstorm. "There is a 99.98% chance that it wasn't planned to happen." Their master ran away, would be mostly lost in the woods and freeze like hell because he ran outside with only his underwear on.


	6. Truth About The Stranger Inside Of Me

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything!**

* * *

**_~~ Truth About The Stranger Inside Of Me ~~_**

**_~~ 13. December, Morning ~~_**

"SHIT! What don't you understand by _'We need help'_?" Rik held the mobile tightly in his hand. Since half an hour he was speaking with the stupidest man on earth. Didn't he understand what _'I need help!'_ meant? They were in a deadly situation! The man, a member of the hunters, spoke some words. "I need them now….No….There isn't anybody to ask, you asshole!...Listen…HEY!" The dial tone teased him in the ear and Rik would have liked to throw the mobile against the next wall if he wouldn't need it later. How dare they to hang up on him?

'_Protecting each other, my ass! When I joined the hunters they said we were a family! I'll kill you for ignoring me!'_

The man ran up to the red car, which he had stolen, opened the door and smiled by the sleeping boy. The drug had begun to work and the noisy questions from the boy had finally stopped. How he hated children. They were annoying, stupid, useless and most of all you needed to look after them 24/7. He pressed his foot on the gas pedal and drove with high speed along the empty street. The snow hit against the windshield. Nowhere was it safe anymore and he had a feeling that he would meet one of these aliens or monsters today. He needed the little boy in his hands otherwise the chance of the god damned '_Shadows'_ getting him was too high. He couldn't risk that! The car dashed through the snowflakes while Rik was deep in his thoughts. Ryoga moaned by each turn but was still in dreamland.

"Shit! The snow is getting fucking strong!" The driver cursed and didn't see the shadow around his car. The sun rose up behind the forest but the darkness hadn't disappeared. Rik looked closer through the windshield. There was nothing to see or to hear, everything was quiet after…a man in black with long glowing red hair appeared in his sight. "…. OH FUCK!" Rik turned the car to the right, lost control and crashed into one the trees of the forest. It crashed; pieces of the car flew around the air. The car started to burn and all around these actions was a young man. He walked out of the shadow and was with one jump by the burning car, grinned.

"So we meet again." A dark and strong voice husked in Rik's ear. The man wore a black coat and had dark red hair, bounded to a loose ponytail. A few strands of his hair hovered over his shoulder and caressed his face. Rik stared with fear in a pair of clear, lightly green eyes. Something exploded in front of the car but Rik couldn't stop to stare in the other man's eyes. The smirk on the man's lips was wrong, so horrible wrong. The shadow moved a little closer and whispered in his cold voice. "Where is he? Where is my Ryoma?"

* * *

"SHIT! WHY THE HELL DID THE TWO OF YOU NEED TO FIGHT? YOU KNEW THAT HE WAS SLEEPING ABOVE US! HOW COULD YOU…" Seiichi and Syusuke screamed in unison at Momo and Kaidoh with all the fury inside of them. The bluenette bit his bottom lip strongly, it began to bleed but didn't matter right now. His love had run away because of these bastards and had misunderstood everything. Their last master had vanished once more after they had finally found him. Absolutely great! The brown-haired male wanted to slap these two idiots; he lifted his hand and was on his way to slap them but got stopped by Tezuka.

"Seiichi, Syusuke calm down. The others are already on their way to search for him. They will find him soon and then we'll explain everything clearly." The leader tried to sooth his friends a little but it seemed it didn't work as it was planed.

**"**CALM DOWN, YOU SAY? How can you be so calm when Ryoma is outside in his underwear, in the morning and in the middle of a heavy snowstorm! Don't you care what happens with him?" It was Fuji who snapped at him. Pure golden eyes stared furiously at each other. The air snickered from the bad mood.

"I do care for him but we can't leave the house in our currently condition. How do you want to search for him if you can barely move your arm which got shot?" Oishi helped his friend and clapped his hand on Syusuke's shoulder. The brown-haired boy slapped the hand away and went with open eyes and an angry face upstairs. Seiichi followed him and slammed the door shut with full power, made the last unharmed picture fall to the ground and break into pieces. The room was – with a single word - destroyed. A total mess. The furniture was scratched and some of them were full with blood. Tezuka shook his head, headed to the second living room as the first one needed to be renovated.

* * *

He ran around the white forest. Everything looked the same, everything was white and cold, everything seemed lonely and empty. The snowstorm was as strong as in the dawn and it was hard to move but Ryoma bit his teeth together and forced his lips close, not ready to make any sounds. The snow reached his now blue ankle. The boy was freezing, started to regret not have more than his underwear on.

'_Cold…It's so damn cold. Isn't there an end of this icy forest?'_

A cracking sound behind him made him shiver even more. Ryoma wanted to look over his shoulder but didn't do as the fright held him back. One of these monsters could be behind him and attack him in the next seconds. He didn't know how long he had walked or how long he would need to walk to get out of here, nevertheless Ryoma ran straight forward, never backwards – he hoped at least - and slipped more than once at something. He fell down at the icy ground; he hadn't enough strength anymore to move. The boy waited a minute and lay on the white ground, took a little rest in the freezing cold.

It was hard to feel his muslce, his body shivered badly and he couldn't feel his feet anymore as they were numb and had turned in a lightly blue shade. The boy tried again and again to stand up but he never made it. Only as he heard the cracking sound anew, closer than before, he began to move forward with his hands. They were red and blue from the coldness and his body was covered in snow, nonetheless, he pulled his frozen body forward with the last power he had. It seemed hopeless; the stranger looked at him and knelt next to him at his right side.

'_Cold, it's too cold. I want to sleep, want to forget and want my old life back! I want to live a normal life!'_

"Hey, you alright?" The whimpering boy looked up but saw only something dark red in front of his face. He blinked with his eyes and viewed anew at this something in dark red. The male voice tried to reach the boy's mind and shook lightly the cold body. No reaction. "Hey boy, you alright? Answer me! Ryoma!" No reaction from the young teen.

"Hopefully it's not too late! Ryoma, don't die! I need you." The stranger put his coat around the cold, small body and picked the boy up, carried him piggyback. The boy's eyes were half-closed and he moaned quietly while he got carried all the way out of the forest. Hardly did the stranger know that he was being watched by golden eyes.

* * *

"The searcher comes back. 82,35% chance they haven't brought him back." Inui put his textbook in his inner pocket of his shirt and went out of the room to the front door, followed by the other guardians. Just as the data-man had said, the searcher came back empty-handed.

"Tezuka, we have found him…" Tezuka waited for the youngest manbeasr to continue but somehow the teen was slightly uncomfortable.

"And where is he, Kirihara?" The leader asked in his stoic voice.

"W-Well, one of the s-shadows had taken him with him." Kirihara backed away. It was never a good thing to stand too close to a five-tailed one if you brought bad news or even worse very bad news.

"What?" Shouted the '_King'_. Someone had taken their prince? How dare they to do that!

"Who?" Asked Sanada and his face showed a bit of worry and fear for a very short moment.

"Only one?" The leader asked in worry. That wasn't good.

'_What if Cole has taken him? A shadow? Here? They're too soon! Paen had said they would come around Christmas Eve but we have nearly two more weeks. Why now and why only one? They wouldn't underestimate us, would they?'_

Tezuka, frozen in his position and not ready to move an inch, held his breath as fear overcame him. What if Ryoma went with him on his own free will? Would their little one do something this? His legs felt like jelly, he couldn't hold himself on his feet anymore. What if his doubts were true? What should they do? Fight against their last master and kill themselves? It would break everyone's heart, especially the tensais'. He stumbled a few steps backwards.

"…ka…Tezuka…" Oishi steadied his friend and leader with his shoulder and put Tezuka's arm over his shoulder. Kaidoh was doing the same on the other side. He had never seen the stoic captain so out of character – never so weak. The guided him back to the living room and sat him on the long and big sofa. Everyone waited for a reaction of their leader and after a big pause it really happened.

"Sanada, call Paen. Ask him if they're still in his land or if they are on their way to their new destination." The voice was cold and full of …worry, fear? Sanada typed the number in his phone and listened to the dial tone while Atobe sat next to his trance-like lover and soothed him. The other guardians and the searcher – Jackal, Marui and Kirihara – spread around the room and gazed sadly and worriedly at their former leader. Something bad must have happened. A loud growl broke out of Sanada's throat.

'_Why don't you pick up the shitty phone?'_

"Sanada?" Oishi asked with his boyfriend in his lap. He hugged Eiji tightly and pressed himself further to the heavenly warmth. "He isn't picking up!" The stoic man glared angry at his friends. He hadn't had a good feeling about it. He put his cell phone back in his pocket and gazed around the room. His love and the other tensai hadn't returned yet. He wondered what the two would do upstairs. The swordfighter doubted they would cry or fight but what were they doing?

"Maybe he had just forgotten his cell phone?" Eiji asked innocently and rubbed his cheek against his lover's hand.

"I don't think so; Paen would never forget something as important as his cell! Something must have happened to him but our main problem is Ryoma, we don't know who the stranger is and where he went with Ryoma." Yanagi spoke up, his eyes closed and his face emotionless. "Inui, you surely have the answer of our question, right?" His view went straight to the data-man who had unbelievable not his sketchbook in his hands. His glasses shone for a slight moment and he crossed his arms as he sat down on a near chair.

"Well, as I see the things, there is a 10% chance that the person, who had taken our little one, was Cole. Another 32,64% chance that it was Chorne or Lloyd and 57,36% chance that it was Akito."

"If Akito was the one, then…" Atobe's voice broke up. The diva didn't need to say anything further; they already saw the bad memories. Akito was the youngest of the shadows but the most dangerous one. Nobody knew how the little boy could change so much, how could he fight against them now after all what had happened between them? The room was quiet; the mood was mixed with sadness, hate and anger, the faces filled here and there with a frown or guilty expression. "Everyone, make yourself ready to fight. We'll bring our master back! Today's night, we'll fight!" Tezuka calmed himself down, tried to hide his shaking voice. The fear to meet the one, who had gotten their small prince, was immense.

'_Akito, what do you plan? __'_

* * *

Mostly of the manbeasts walked out of the room and inside their own rooms. Only Sanada went in an other direction.

'_I hope Seiichi is fine. Maybe I can help to overcome the shock and depression?'_

He stopped in front of a big crème colored door, knocked once, also twice but there was no reply. Was he outside or maybe in Fuji's room?

"Sei- Yukimura it's me, open up, please!" No answer. "Yukimura, Fuji, open up. I need to speak to you!" He pressed the doorknob down and opened the door. The room was dark, quiet and the window let the snowflakes flew inside the room. The stoic boy gazed around but didn't see or hear anything. He stepped to the centre of the room and looked all around. Nothing. It hit him like a lightning before a shocking idea clicked in his head.

'_Oh no. Please don't be so stupid!'_

He ran to Fuji's room, hammered at the door but there came the same reaction as before. No one answered, no on opened the door. Sanada shoved his way in, gazed with lightly golden eyes over the empty room. Dark, silent, empty. No one was inside. The only difference - the window was shut.

'_OH, SHIT!'_

He closely flew down the stairs, rushed in the room were his leader was and breathed the words. "They're not in their rooms. They ran out of Seiichi's room through the window! We need to find them!"

"What?" Tezuka hissed in anger. Since when had his emotionless mask fallen apart? Must be Ryoma's influence. "Call every guardian; tell them we'll meet in half an hour in front of the church near the river! We'll find a way through the strong snowstorm! NOW!" Sanada sprinted out of the living room and up the stairs anew to every room where his friends slept or played games. The leader leaned his body against Atobe's and kissed his lover's cheek. The '_king'_ put his arm around his boyfriend's shoulder, caressing his brown hair.

"You know, love makes blind. They want him and nothing can stop them if they had set something up in their mind. They're really our tensais. Sneaking out when we aren't looking over them. I hope they don't meet Akito. This would mostly their end if they did." Atobe took the tired young man in a tight embrace and rested his head over his boyfriend's. It was never easy with the two troublemakers and that they have found their love now didn't make it easier.

* * *

_A dream, a nice dream. He smelt something yummy and softness surrounded him with a comforting warmth. Never would he want to wake up. But some memories blinked here and then up before his eyes. The shouts from his first night in the town ran inside his head. The creatures which had attacked him but never hurt him, had disguised as his friends, had lied to him and had tried… had tried what? _

_What was it what they exactly wanted? _

_Him? _

_For what?_

'Please don't fear us! We won't do anything to you!'

_What had you meant? How can I not fear something like you? How can I trust you if you can trick me and kill me?_

'We promise!'

_Can you hold your promise? Are you sure that I can trust you?_

'Please!'

_What are you pleading for? My body? My soul? What is it? What makes me so important to you?_

'Help us!'

_With what? Aren't you the one who can kill me with a single move? So how can I help you? I don't understand. I'm confused and have many questions. Everything is….unreal and complicated. Who is friend and who is foe? Where is my family and where am I or who am I really? Is the '_me_' I know the real me? What are you hiding?_

"…ma….Ry….Ryoma!" The teen's eyes shot open and soft light greeted him. He was alive and welcoming heat filled his body. Ryoma blinked a few times, was stunned to find a gently face over his own and long, dark red hair touched softly his cheeks as it fell down over the young man's shoulder.

"It's good, you're awake. I was worried you would be in some kind of coma. Are you hungry or thirsty?" The dark red-haired young man said and caressed the boy's emerald colored hair, walked slowly into the kitchen and came back with a little plate of light food and tea. Ryoma sat up, he was confused and his face might have looked like it because the other male laughed out loud. "I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Murasaki Akito. You can call me Akito. I have saved you from freezing to death in the woods, Ryoma. You should be more careful from now on." He laid the plate in front of the named boy, sat next to him on the small bed, stroke the soft and still wet hair once more and smiled.

"Eat and drink, it will help you to recover soon. Afterwards I'll answer all your questions about these monsters." Akito stood up and left the - now even more - confused and shocked teen alone. Ryoma glared at the food. Could he trust Akito? Maybe the food or the tea was poisoned? How did Akito know his name? Should he take it or… His stomach made the decision as it growled loudly. The teen took shyly the spoon and ate a few sips of the soup. It was delicious and he wondered how long it was that he had eaten something.

* * *

The older make grinned as he had leaned at the doorframe for a while now. Ryoma was deep in mind but continued to eat the lightly soup.

'_I hope I'm not too late! Hopefully I can change his mind and his form!'_

Akito pushed himself up and went to the boy. After he had finished the soup entirely, the older one put the plate on a near table and sat next to Ryoma with his legs crossed. The boy couldn't hold it anymore and asked in full speed. "How do you know my name? What about these creatures? They look like foxes but they have many tails and then they were my friends in human form, at least I thought so and…."

"Alright, I see you have met them already? I think you want to know the truth?" Ryoma nodded and stared with his golden eyes to Akito. "The creatures you have met are called manbeasts. They're stronger, faster and more flexible than a human but not unbreakable. You said they had many tails, can you remember how many?" For a minute, the boy thought strongly about it and nodded.

"When I first met them I think they had four or five, maybe three. I'm not sure."

"Actually it gives manbeast with three tails, with four tails and with five tails. The more they have, the more dangerous they are. Be careful, the one with the five and four tails have special abilities in their human form – like hearing your thoughts or talking with animals. You can distinguish them on their eye color. They turn golden if they're under strong emotions. Otherwise they sleep more or less a few hours in a week and their body it hotter than ours." Akito stopped; let the boy think about the new information he had just heard. Ryoma closed his eyes for a moment. Let the new information sink inside of him. Shortly after he had understood everything he asked another question.

"Why are they after me?"

"Well, you need to know that these monsters are all uncontrolled and only a beast master can keep them cool and alive. If the last master dies so die all manbeasts, too, and the last master…are you!" It took Ryoma a moment to recognise the said words. His eyes opened wide, his breath was held and he swallowed hard.

"You're kidding, right?" But Akito shook his head lightly and slid a bit closer to the boy.

"It's sad to say but the reason, why they're holding you so tightly is because if you die, it will be their death, too." Akito embraced the shocked teen. Ryoma couldn't believe it. Was it really true? A prank? A joke? Maybe real?

"I know it is hard to believe but trust me, it is, indeed, true and real. These monsters are heartless. They kill people to satisfied their thirst and hunger. They play with the humans as if we are their toys." A tear ran slowly down Ryoma's left cheek. So the touches, caresses and kisses were all played? Had Fuji and Yukimura only played with him like the others who he had called friends only a day ago? Or were it already two? He had lost the sense of time. There were so many black holes in his memories. "How can I believe you? How do you know so much about it?"

"If you want a proof, then look at me!" Akito stood up, unbuttoned his black shirt and showed his bare, white chest. Three long scars glowed over his bare chest. The scars were dark, showed that the wounds was once ago very deep. The form was strange and Ryoma couldn't find any other answer to explain what could make such deep and strange scars. He pushed the blanket away and approached Akito slowly with his left hand reaching for the bruises. The touch from the boy was careful and soft.

"Ryoma, can I ask you something important?" The called person stepped backwards and glanced in the eyes of the older one. He nodded lightly. "Have they given you blood? Or have they taken some blood from you?"

The young teen gazed confused at him. "No, I don't think so. Why do you ask? Why is it so important?"

"Well,… there is a ritual. If you take the blood from one or more manbeasts and gives them some blood of yours…it says that you take the role as their master. Are you sure you want that? Are you sure you haven't drunk blood from them and gave them something of yours?" Ryoma felt his legs weaken, his body shaking and his mind completely blank. Had he…? No, why would he have drunk blood? But the sweet liquid...? He was too deep in his thoughts as to notice that he was lifted from the ground and carried to the bed again. Akito saw the pure shock in the emerald-haired male's eyes. Good, if the shock was big enough, Ryoma wouldn't do the same mistake as he had done a few years ago.

He would do everything to rescue this little one from the creatures who had broken his heart once. No, never would he let the chaos from years ago repeat! The green-haired teen laid down on the bed; the blanket over his body but all he noted was the creepy feeling inside his body that something was wrong, that something approached him and came closer to him. What was it? He lifted his hands in the air and stared at them. A flashlight crashed in front of his mind as another very important question came over him. "What about the black tattoos? Why was my body burning? Had it something to do with all this here, too? Akito, you know the truth, right?" The dark red-haired man twitched a bit by the sudden explosion of questions.

"The tattoos, as you called them, are marks which tell you if a foreign manbeast is near. For the manbeasts it's a sign about your position as their beast master. The burning pain is a sign of an unfinished connection. In other words - you haven't taken any blood from them if the pain is very strong. You should rest a bit more. I'll help and protect you." Akito kissed the boy's forehead, turned the soft light off and closed the door quietly. He went to another room, entered it and look after his other guest. Another teen with dark tinted hair, lay on his sofa and was snoring loudly. At least the teen was alive, so he could ask him later why he was with the now dead hunter. He went outside the room, put out his cell phone and typed in a number. After the second ring the person picked up.

"It's me…"


	7. My Past Is Your Future

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything!**

* * *

**_~~ My Past Is Your Future ~~_**

**_~~ 13. December, Afternoon ~~_**

They ran through the forest, their fur floated in the wind and their golden eyes glowed across the afternoon sun. The lightly steps hushed through the whole forest as the herd of manbeasts rushed to their destination.

'_Hurry, keep yourself together and run as close at one another as possible. The snow won't be so strong anymore after that! Don't let your guard down.'_

The leader panted heavily. His wound at his left arm and thigh were still hurting and started to re-open. It wasn't a good sign and he knew, if they wouldn't reach the two tensais soon, the two would be helpless. The snowstorm wasn't as strong as at the morning anymore but strong enough to make the manbeast with deep wounds suffer.

'_YES!' _

Came from every manbeast in unison and they ran closer and faster along the forest.

* * *

Ryoga woke up as loud noises reached his ears. He yawned and sat up, stretched his body and looked around the dark room. He sat on the sofa totally quiet and unmoved. After a few minutes came the shock and the memories of being dragged from the hospital to a red car and … He couldn't remember what had happened after he had closed his eyes for a moment when he sat in the red car.

'_Crap! Ryoma, I need to go to Ryoma! I need to find him soon!'_

The emerald-haired teen jumped up from the couch and for a moment was everything in a blur, nonetheless he stumbled out of the room, only to find another empty room which looked like a mix of living room and kitchen. Where the hell was he? He tiptoed to the middle of the room, where the lamp hung from the ceiling, and glared at a big door on his right side. It was slightly open and soft light shone out of the small gap. The teen went quietly to the place and heard someone hushing words to someone else. The older brother open the door a bit more, entered the room and stood speechless and frozen at the doorframe.

"Ryoma, wake up. We need to go before they meet us. Get up, Ryoma." A man with long dark red hair sat next to his little brother and whispered soft words to him but it seemed as if his brother hadn't any idea of getting up soon. Ryoma turned around, pulled the blanket over his head and mumbled some inaudible words. The other on the bed sighs and began to shake the body gently but after more or less ten minutes, the man pulled the blanket away with full force and the little boy's body was discovered. Ryoma pressed his half-naked body together, tried to warm himself up, but the coldness around him was stronger. The young teen's eyes fluttered slowly open and he rubbed his eyes while someone pulled him up in a sitting position. The older sibling ran out of instinct to his little brother and steadied him in the sitting position and didn't let him fall down onto the pillows again.

"So you're already awake? Fine. My name is Murasaki Akito and to come straight to the point, Ryoga, you have seen these creatures too, right?" Akito didn't wait for an answer and continued. "I need Ryoma to kill them all and I need your help. They will try to kill us when they see him…" Akito pointed at Ryoma. "…so we need to do everything to protect him! Has your father taught you how to fight?" This time, Akito looked up and into Ryoga's face. The teen nodded and touched his brother's hands. They were cold but somehow it felt as if little electroshocks tickled his hands. This wasn't normal, was it?

"Hurry, Ryoma. We need to go, I have no nerve for them right now! C'mon hurry, get ready!" Akito pushed the dark green bangs out of the teen's face and stroke gently the right cheek. A smile formed itself on his face and he walked quickly to his wardrobe, pulled out pants and sweatshirt, both in black, and returned to the still half-asleep boy.

"Hurry, sweetheart." Akito whispered, dressed the sitting and yawing boy, only to notice another pair of golden eyes which was watching him carefully. "Don't worry. I'm not like them. I only want the best for him, believe me when I say that I really know what the best is from some sort of experience." He pulled Ryoma up, who was now fully awake, and dragged him to the door. "I have no time for them right now; Cole is waiting for me and Ryoma, so we need to leave this place before they..."

* * *

Tezuka was freezing, getting slower and weaker. The snow lashed, hit through his face and fur. His folk was also affected by these hard circumstances as Atobe fought with his gunshot wound from the later evening while Eiji had problems to run straight with all the noises around him and Sanada, who was one of the sensitive's if it was about heat and coldness, had the little problem of freezing himself to death. The leader had offered him to wait in the mansion but he knew the hidden secret, about his little addiction of Yukimura and a bit of Fuji, so he let him be even if it meant to handle one more problem.

'_Tezuka… I can smell them! They're near!'_

The leader didn't know who had said it, too hard was it to ignore the harsh pain in his body, but after a short moment he could smell it, too. The fresh scent of blood, wild air and animal.

'_Faster! Run as fast as you can. Hold them back whatever they want to do! GO!'_

Kunimitsu was shocked as some of his friends were really speeding up and left him a little behind. Was his condition soo bad or had the others improved since the last time they had a competition? He was pulled back to the reality and out of his thoughts as two figures came into their sight. One human with lightly brown hair and another one with dark blue hair. Yukimura was lying down in the snow but it didn't wonder the group. The tensai had gotten the most bruises in the fight at Ryoma's home and his state was already weak before Ryoma had run away. Fuji at the other side was hovering over his best friend on all fours, protecting him from the snow and the coldness. Loud howls and whimpers let the brown-haired teen look up from his spot. His body was shaking and almost as white as the snow, having dark circles under his open golden eyes and lightly blue lips. The eyes showed strong emotions but not fear, shame or weakness.

No, they showed rage, hate and mainly the sense of killing someone. Fuji was frozen to the ground; his shivering body had already reached its limits. He, too, had gotten damaged in the fight and so was his condition just like Tezuka's and Yukimura's – disgraceful. Kaidoh, Momo and Eiji ran up to the brown-haired tensai. The red head whimpered softly to him and pushed friendly his nose against the brunette's left cheek, telling him to steady himself at his friends' body. The two rivals crouched under Fuji's chest and stomach with their heads, pushed the cold body upwards. Syusuke held himself at his friend's warm fur and got, thanks to the help of his family, up.

'_Walk forward and guide him to Ryo. These stubborn boys will only rest if Ryoma is back in their arms!'_

The little group of four ran/wobbled forwards as their leader had ordered them. Oishi, Yanagi and Sanada went up to Yukimura and poked carefully with their noses at the unconscious teen's head. The eyelids began to stir and violet eyes tried to focus at his surroundings. The blue-haired boy felt his heavy and cold body; he wasn't strong enough to move even one part of it. He only wanted to sleep right now. Nothing more, only closing his eyes and falling into a deep slumber. The three manbeasts crawled to him at all fours and poked more and more at him but this time not only at his face but at his unharmed shoulder, too. The tensai moaned hurtfully but the poking didn't stop and his lungs started to burn stronger with every breath. All of a sudden, his body was lifted up and the freezing floor was replaced by something warm and fuzzy. He tried to listen to the owner of the warm body's thought but didn't receive any hints.

"S-Sanada, i-it's you." It wasn't a question but a fact. The bluenette easily recognized him as Sanada was the only one who the tensais couldn't read. Somehow his ability of a strong will was building a big wall as a shield around his mind. Seiichi felt the welcoming heat around his body. From the left side and the right side flow the life-saving warmth inside of him.

"You all are warming me with your fur. Thank you." He mumbled and closed his eyes as another soft poke on his shoulder teased him and said '_You're welcome_!'. Fuji was in the same situation. He had transformed into his real self anew and was warmed up by his friends as they pressed their bodies together to share the heat of each other.

_'Ryoma! Please believe us!'_

'_Everyone! We need to hurry. Don't let your guard down! Eiji can you hear them?'_

* * *

"I have no time for them right now; Cole is waiting for me and Ryoma so we need to leave this place before they..." Akito stopped mid-way, stared with a bit fear at the door. They were faster as he had thought. "Crap, we need to hurry, they're too close. Ryo, come here."

He ignored the older brother of the last master, pulled the small boy into an embrace, mumbled some words like _'hope it will work_..', bite the boy between his left ear and his neck and began to drink the blood from the open wound he had made. Sadly, he hadn't fangs like a manbeast, so it hurt the boy much more. The green-haired teen whimpered as electrifying pain shot inside his whole body. He began to scream and whine. His nails bored itself in the flesh of the man in front of him, his vision got blurry and flashing lights popped up before his eyes, signalling him that he would faint soon. Something was wrong. Never had he felt so much pain in his entire life. Some voices rang in his echoing head, tears streamed down his cheeks.

_'These stubborn boys will only rest if Ryoma is back in their arms!'  
'Everyone! We need to hurry.'  
'Ryoma! Please believe us!'_

A storm welled up in him. The time stopped, the noises disappeared, his world was upside down and the pain increased but the dark green-haired teen didn't noticed anything. The voices were trustful and gentle. Whispering to him to trust them, not to run away. They only wanted to protect him. Protect him from what?  
Another wave of pain, more hurtful and burning as the one before, rose up and he couldn't help as to cry out in suffering pain.

'_IT HURTS, IT HURTS! PLEASE, LET IT STOP! __HELP!'_

* * *

The red head lifted his face up, closed his eyes and listened to the sounds around him. Shortly after, he really heard something dreadful but it didn't come from his surroundings. The high pitched shriek echoed inside his head and not only by him. All heads shot up and the manbeasts sprinted again further and further along the forest, only to see a little house at the end of the woods. Somehow, Ryoma had opened their connection again and was calling for them, even if he didn't know it. The scent of something wild, fresh and … indescribable sweet, nevertheless they knew exactly that it was Ryoma's scent – his fresh blood.

Someone had wounded their master – their baby boy – and would be paying for that. Forgotten were the snowstorm and the heavy fear of Akito. Ryoma's health was much more important.

* * *

Akito stopped drinking the blood by the ringing scream next to his ear. He pushed Ryoma back who landed with his butt onto the ground with his hands on his new wound – little red rivers ran down his hands and to the ground. He stared at the boy and the fear rose inside of him. One mark after another appeared at the boy's body through the clothes. The skin over the neck began to change. The marks appeared on it.

'_No. No. No! No! He said they hadn't…. He said it burnt! Why... How? It was different by me!'_

Growls and howls surrounded the house as Akito walked to Ryoma. He wanted to carry him out of here but Ryoga prevent his action. He sprinted to his brother supported him and lay Ryoma's head on his knees while stroking the bangs out of the sweaty face. The teen was totally overwhelmed with this situation. First the stranger embraced his brother, who hadn't even noticed him, afterwards his little brother was screaming as hell and third his Chibisuke was pushed to the floor and the black patterns were on his body again, which had for now never meant anything good. The boy moaned from the ache in his neck and turned his head around.

* * *

The emerald-haired teen heard quiet voices inside his head.

'_We'll come and safe you.'_

'_Be quiet, please, nya!'_

'_You need to know our true self!'_

'_We want to help you!'_

'_Hear us out, we beg you!'_

'_Before you hurt yourself!'_

'_Fshuu, we would never hurt you!'_

The whispered words in his head… he didn't know why but they relaxed him. He really felt safe. More than he ever had. He hadn't enough power after all these exhausting days or hours. He wanted to rest, to sleep in a soft and warm bed and wake up as if nothing of all the shit had ever happened. He wanted it to be a dream, a nightmare or whatever but he couldn't take anything anymore. Everything in his prefer life had shattered in two and wasn't his life any longer. The boy couldn't hold his eyes open for even one more minute. They were too heavy and sleepy, also had the pain cost him his last strength before he drifted into a light sleep. At the same time was a herd of creatures around the house and already breaking inside.

"What have you done?" The green-haired teen screamed at the red-haired one.

"Do you know if he had drunk blood from them?" Akito ignored the question and approached the two siblings.

"What have you done?" Ryoga repeated again but the next thing he knew was that the older man shook him on his shoulders and asked him the same question once more.

"Had Ryoma drunk blood from these monsters? If yes, then we're in really deep shit! GET UP!" Ryoga paled. He didn't know who he should trust. He remembered the eyes of these two monsters - filled with love and yearning after Ryoma. He hadn't seen a single sign of harming him, only the wish to protect and care for him. Should he trust the creatures or the _shadow _named Akito?

Akito had visited him and his father two years ago, so he knew who he was. Earlier he hadn't understood what the teen meant with '_I'm a shadow, I had turned my back on the manbeasts!'_ but now, after his father had explained everything to him, he did or so he thought at least. He was interrupted in his thoughts as a loud crash joined the air. Glass fell to the ground and more than one manbeast entered the house, with a few steps they filled the room with three other people. Ryoga's eyes widen. It weren't so many the last time he had seen them. They bared their teeth, pushed their claws into the wooden floor, let the ground splatter in pieces and let their tails swing in the air as a deadly warning. The growls of the beasts spoken the unspoken emotions – hate and anger, ready to fight and kill.

"It's nice to see all of you again, ne Tezuka?" The manbeast right in front of Akito hissed. "I must confess. I'm surprised you had made a one-sided connection with Ryoma so soon. But I doubt highly that the boy will give any blood to one of you. I have already told him the truth and as you can see, Ryoma and Ryoga are the same meaning as I am."

Ryoga, startled by someone calling his name, glared between the manbeasts and the shadow. Since when had he agreed to Akito? His Chibisuke was in pain and all what Akito cared for was who Ryoma trusted more? If they wouldn't hurry and help him there wouldn't be even any drop of blood! He pushed his little brother up onto his lap and softly rocked him, like a parent would do with their baby. Ryoma whined quietly in his sleep and more electric shocks flattered along Ryoga's hands and arms. The marks on the younger teen's body twitched and formed further over the skin. The older brother didn't quite understood what all the mystery things had to do with the tattoos. His father had only told him clearly about the shadows. Hardly had he said anything about the manbeasts. Nanjiroh had said he should protect Chibisuke from dangerous, bad creatures called manbeasts.

'_I have a feeling these creatures are the right ones. I think I feel safer in their presence than in Akito's but why? Aren't they the foe and…'_

A poke from something on his back of his head made him jolt. He turned his face around and saw into four pairs of golden eyes. Their furs were black, lightly brown, dark brown and once more black. The breath of them touched his neck, made him shiver and he looked at every beast's eyes. The lightly brown-haired one squealed very quiet, only letting Ryoga hear it, and pointed with his nose at the sleeping boy. "Chibisuke? Y-You won't harm him, right?" It was a stupid question but he asked it nevertheless in a low tone and glance to them. They nodded with their heads. The teen viewed down at his little brother, the marks over his body shone and grew with every minute.

'_Shall I? Can I? What if..? But maybe…? Ryoma!'_

Another manbeast with black fur and eyes, which were hidden behind some silver strains of fur, approached them and licked along Ryoga's temple. The emerald-haired teen got startled but something flickered inside his head and he froze. Pictures of some boys inside a big, elegant room. A person in a bed, sleeping deeply, was surrounded by more than five people. They all had a smiling or joyful expression when they looked at the sleeping boy. Two boys were hugging and cuddling with him. The picture ended and Ryoga came back to his sense. He blinked once, twice and gazed with thoughtful eyes at the creature.

"The boy in the bed was… Chibisuke?" He asked carefully and got another poke from one of the other manbeasts. The golden eyes shone in the darkness - not aggressive but with hope and life. "I want to come with you, only then, I'm willing to bring him to you." He narrowed his eyes, waited for some kind of reaction. A red-furred manbeast came up to him and licked his face. A small smile popped up on his face. He hoped it was the right decision.

_BANG_

A loud crash startled them and they gazed with fear at the nearly dead creature on the ground. "You should know I'm stronger than you, Tezuka! How often had we fought against each other and always have I won!" Akito smirked proudly and pointed with the long sword, which he had always under his clothes, at the one next to the weak manbeast on the ground.

* * *

Ryoma's eyes shot open, jolted up by the loud noise, sat up and glanced around.

The shock hit him strongly as he saw the creatures, so many and so tall. He was surrounded by them with his brother. He pressed his body against Ryoga's and tried to distance himself further from the beasts in any way.

* * *

Ryoga didn't know what happened. His baby brother had woken up by the noise and searched for comfort by him. He saw Ryoma's expression, raw fear and confusion showed up in his face and as every manbeast got closer to them, protected them, Ryoma was even more scared and began to whimper silently.

The older brother tried to calm him with a slight embrace, whispered sweet nothings in the ear but the younger one didn't relax a bit.

* * *

Only as the emerald-haired teen saw Akito, he reacted, stood up in a rush and made some efforts to run to him. Eiji, Inui, Oishi, Momo, Yanagi and Fuji were the nearest to Ryoma, they all made some steps forward, to stop their prince, and the short boy broke his tracks halfway. His hand touched lightly the fur of a lightly brown-furred manbeast and the burning sensation inside his body began anew. He fell on his knees by the sudden fire on his skin.

'_No, please no! Akito was right. Whenever they're near me, I feel the fire inside of me! I need to escape from them! I need to go to Akito!'_

They growled softly, after they had read the thoughts of their young prince, but Ryoma didn't understand the difference between soft and angry. He made a step to the right, then to the left but nowhere was a way out of the circle of manbeasts. Another shriek echoed through the room and Ryoma jolted up for the second time, they all stared at the next nearly dead manbeast on the ground which had stood next to Tezuka and had purple fur. Akito had swung his sword again and laughed.

"You have betrayed me, broke my heart years ago and still... I can't stop to think about him. Do you want it feels like to be lost? Alone? You used me. Never wanted me as a lover. And you want to repeat the scandal with Ryoma?" Akito turned to him. "How about it ryoma? Do you want to be used like an object?" Fuji, howled loudly, hovered right before his love. His fur got spiky, threading his opponent. The other members followed Fuji's example and soon were Akito surrounded by them. The last master took the chance and walked quietly over to his brother took his hand and dragged him on his feet.

"Let's escape! This is our chance!" He hushed in Ryoga's ear and wanted to escape across the window in the bed room but Ryoga stayed still. The only thing which nobody had expected right at the moment was Akito putting his sword away, pulled out a little bottle and opened it. The beasts backward abruptly, made the way unwillingly free for their foe.

'_Wha..?'_

The brothers thought, they didn't see right. What was that for a substance? Something liquid which every manbeast feared? What was so wrong with the bottle? Ryoga changed his weight, pulled the younger male behind his own body, backwards and dumped against a wall. Something pressed itself into his flesh in his right pants pocket. He glided his left hand down and touched around the thing in his pocket. He recognized it and without another thought he slid his hand inside the pocket, to grab the little bottle tightly and pull it out secretly. Akito had already seen through his plan and was with one jump next to him, grabbing forcefully Ryoga's hand with the little bottle.

"May I ask what you want to do with it? A kid like you shouldn't carry such a dangerous thing." Akito took the little bottle with the poison and put it in his pocket. Afterwards he pushed Ryoga out of the way, reached out with his free hand and stopped right in front of Ryoma. "Let's go, Ryoma. Before they kill us just like my lover."

The emerald-haired teen made the move to take the outstretched hand but a pleading wail took his attention. He turned his head to the right. A dark-blue furred manbeast stumbled to him, blood was running down to the ground from the body. The creature seemed to be in heavy ache; his eyes were glowing golden, prayed to him, pleaded and begged to him that he should stay. The teens hand stopped midway as Ryoma couldn't lose the eye-contact. Something inside of him told him to run to the creature and help him but another part screamed '_TAKE THE HAND AND RUN!_'. Something pushed him mentally away from Akito; his hand was pressed down, his feet pushed to the manbeast and his eyes still locked in the golden eyes.

"You don't leave me any other choice." Akito blocked the contact with his hands. He laid his hand over Ryoma's eyes, opened the mouth of the boy and lifted the bottle with the frighten liquid up and leaded it to the mouth. Everything what happened next was in slow motion.


	8. Please Trust Me

**Disclaimer: Do not own anything.**

* * *

**_~~ Please Trust Me ~~_**

**_~~ 13. December, Late Afternoon ~~_**

"Cole, wake up. We are here." Lloyd shook his leader on the shoulder and stopped when the called person started to stir. The blond-haired man named Lloyd walked away with one of his partners– Chorne – and out of the plane. The people stared at them as their clothes were entirely in black or gray. Their bags were small but filled with enough things to survive a fight with a horde of manbeasts.

"Let's take the last master and kill him. I can't wait to see those monsters suffer!" Cole mumbled and went elegantly out of the plane and followed his folk. "Let the party starting!"

* * *

'_NO!'_

'_DON'T LET IT HAPPEN!'_

'_FIGHT AGAINST HIM!'_

'_HE WANTS TO KILL YOU!'_

The screams crashed with speed of light in his mind and exploded in his head. Ryoma felt something beyond fear and it gave him a chill down his spine. He wanted to move his hands to his burning head and so did he. It was an unexpected reaction – the hand over his eyes flew away, something cold and liquid touched his chin instead of his mouth. Ryoma stumbled a few steps backwards right into the circle of creatures and fell to the ground next to two wounded manbeasts. His hands were clenching his hair near his temples, his eyes pressed close with full force and his feet were on the floor.

'_Relax, you're safe.'_

'_Ore-sama has still enough power to protect you!'_

The voices startled him and he flinched, wanted to sprint away anew and out of the hell. Ryoma waited for the attack, the cracking sounds of his bones and the inhuman pain but nothing came. He opened slightly one of his eyes and jolted up when he saw two creatures hovering before him.

Akito flinched with one of his eyes. He hadn't suspected such a reaction from the young teen; also he didn't know certainly where this action came from. A second earlier, Ryoma had tried to run into his arms and in the next one, the dark emerald-haired teen had pushed him away. The last master could never know he wanted to kill him unless… The bottle in his hand was nearly empty, the poison travelled down the boy's chin and to the ground – leaving a little puddle. It was so close. He had the last one in his hands. Why hadn't he just killed without playing with him? He didn't want to kill someone innocent but the boy had already a connection to the monsters, there wasn't any other choice than to kill him and every manbeast with him!

"I'm aggrieved. You listen more to them as to me. Ryoma, I haven't told you about my dead lover, have I?" As soon as the sentence left Akito's mouth, the manbeasts attacked and jumped at him, tried to bite him, crawl his eyes and every other organ out of him. But Akito was fast - too fast, thanks to his ability. The horde had recovered from the sudden move and was on their paws anew. Akito continued to speak to Ryoma.

"They tortured and killed him without a second thought! These monsters are only here because if you die, they will die, too! It was the same by me. You need to believe me! The last thing I want is to kill someone innocent but, Ryoma, if you decide to go with them – you leave me no other choice!"

'_Fuji__, Yukimura take Ryoma with you and run to the old building in the forest. Explain him everything and tell him the truth! NOW!'_

The tensais nodded. Fuji transformed in his human form and walked up to Ryoma, still careful and regardful that nobody was attacking him. The emerald-haired teen backed away from him only to bump with his head and back into something warm and tender. His heart raced in his chest, his own breath was thin and his face turned hurriedly to the right to see what had stopped him. He gazed into two golden eyes with a hint of …violet? The manbeast which had pleaded to him. A tongue licked his cheek and in the next second was suddenly a human sitting next to him, kissing his nose. In the same time was Fuji kneeling next to Yukimura and in front of his love. Ryoma felt the shallow breath from the dark blue-haired teen next of him.

"Please, come with us. Hear us out and trust us. We won't do anything."

The voice was nothing more than a whisper and two different hands were all of a sudden on his cheeks – left behind a soft sum over the touched skin. The black/green-haired teen gazed confusedly between sapphire blue and amethyst violet eyes. It felt right to touch and trust them but... His next sight fell on Akito.

'_If we really wanted to only use you, wouldn't we have done it already? We don't need your agreement to bind you on us but we waited till now because we want you to be our master from your own free will.'_

Ryoma shrugged by the change of conversation – mind instead of mouth. It was strange to know that somebody could read your mind. Could they read his past? His secrets? Questions rushed in his head, but nowhere was an answer. There were so many emotions – mostly fear and confusion. Everything was now mystic and abnormal! An enigma with no answers! Akito was a mystical enigma, too. His moves were way too fast for a human and he knew everything about the manbeasts and even scared them!

_Isn't that reason enough to go with them? He tried to kill you and would always try it anew!_

_Who know what the creatures are going to do with you?_

The two voices inside of him said. Who knows?

Right. Who knew the correct decision? Which should he take? Ryoga, who sat in the edge of the room all of the time, watched his little brother from afar. It looked for him as if Ryoma couldn't make his mind up. A small smile popped up on his face at the rare sight. He stood up quietly, tiptoed along the wall and stopped behind the creatures around his brother. The manbeasts made the way free for him, he easily reached his brother while Akito get never out of their sight. Ryoga embraced his little brother from behind and whispered some words in his ear.

"Ryoma, make your decision out of instinct. Are you scared when you are close to them? Or do you feel the same safety as I do right now?"

Ryoga pulled out of the hug and stood up, letting his little brother time to think. Fuji and Yukimura did the same and smiled thankfully to their new ally. Another manbeast transformed back into human form, walked up to Ryoma and knelt down to him. Momoshiro held his hand out, waited for his master to take it. The spiky-haired teen seemed to be calm and patient from the outside but inside he was inpatient and nearly at the end with his nerves. What had Akito told the boy to make him so scared of them? Ryoma on the other side saw the raw emotions. The sadness, the pain and even the unspoken plead.

* * *

Akito's glare was terrifying, the hate and the anger fogged his eyes. The young man saw the shining gold eyes from Ryoma – the boy had already made his decision but didn't know it himself. No, he couldn't lose his only chance to make his former family suffer and beg to him to let them alive. Without Ryoma, his plan would be nothing. But shortly after, he smirked and his eyes glowed in self-confidence as a plan formed itself in his head. The manbeasts around him watched him closely – saw every move from him. He lifted the bottle up, poured the last bit of the poison over his sword and jumped forward – attacking the small boy.

The hell broke out. Tezuka and Atobe, Sanada, Kaidoh and Eiji blocked the way – fought for their little one, Inui searched silently inside the house for a safe way to escape, all the other three-tails built a wall around Akito. They couldn't lose their baby boy anew. Yukimura and Fuji reacted outright as they took their love's hands and dragged him onto his feet. A gasp ran out of Ryoma's mouth as the marks appeared over his hands, too. He remembered about them and the burning sensation was there again. Ryoga followed his Chibisuke silently.

The red-haired man swung his sword while the manbeasts avoided the touch with the poisoning silver. It was a fight which wailed only for a few seconds as mostly all manbeasts were lying at the ground. Tezuka panted hard, Atobe could hardly hold his body straight, Sanada protected Yukimura and Fuji with his body who were trying to lead their love out of the danger. The way they had come inside was now blocked from Akito; the foe seemed to know their intention. The brown-haired tensai pushed Ryoma behind him and held him close by his body. The emerald-haired male tried only once to glance around the two teens but was pushed back as soon as they had noticed his action in his thoughts. Akito giggled at the bloody view and turned his attention to his two ex-lovers.

"My, Yukimura, Fuji! How are my jealous ex-lovers? You don't want to repeat the past with Ryoma now, do you?" Akito asked in a sweet tone, smirked and held his free hand forward. His smirk widen when the two manbeasts in human form twitched. Yeah, he would hurt these two the most. Their possessiveness had once killed their forth lover only because they were jealous!

"No, this time it is completely different. Ryoma will never cheat on us." Sapphire blue eyes turned entirely gold and a low growl escaped Fuji's mouth. He needed to be careful if he didn't want to scare Ryoma any more.

"Otherwise, Ryoma is still pure and innocent. We're the one who should get our revenge! You're going to suffer for what **you **had done!" Yukimura took both of Ryoma's hands into his left hand and held the boy tightly at his place, even when their love hadn't made any moves to escape. It was calming to know, Ryo didn't make a fuss and actually let them protect him. In the meantime, the young teen couldn't follow the conversation between them. It got more mysterious with every minute.

'_Lover? Jealous? Kill? Innocent? Cheated? What is going on?' _

Ryoma's thoughts were unclear, rushing around his head without meaning and sense. These were too many information, too many things which he didn't know or want to know. It was all too much for the small boy. He didn't know whom he could trust and whom not, who wanted him for bad things and good ones.

'_What? Why? How? I-I don't understand! It can't be real, can it? What is true and what is a lie?'_

'_Your brother trusts us. Isn't it a sign for you? We won't harm you.'_

'_Trust us, at least now. Please, we'll explain everything but not here!'_

Ryoma twitched. Couldn't they speak normally with the mouth? What choice did he have? Get used or get killed? The answer was clear without a second thought. Just then he looked into a pair of furious lightly green eyes. His view got down to the ground and his face paled. The manbeasts lay on the ground, whimpering, begging and whining from the pain.

Only a brown-furred manbeast with five tails and a black-furred one with four tails were still on their paws as a purple-furred one collapsed. The young male wanted to shriek but a hand placed itself over his mouth and stopped him. A thumb stroke along his cheek, soothed and calmed him down but only a little. The room was filled with the scent of blood; the walls and the floor were smeared with blood spatter and blood puddles. The creatures lay unmoveable onto the ground – still alive or dead? Ryoma couldn't see it but his eyes had widen by the cruel and traumatic sight and his hands were trembling uncontrollable. It was hard to breathe and he had the feeling of throwing up but suppressed it as good as he could. Fuji and Yukimura noticed the change of their little one and saw from the corner of their eyes the shocked figure. Shit!

'_We need to get him out right now. We can't let him break.'_

'_Saa, but where to go? We're the only one who can still move!'_

'_There is a 99.98% chance that you hear me and also a 78,24% chance that this way leads out of the house. Leave the others to me; I have enough of my Inui Juice with me to heal them and bring them back to stand. Maybe Ryoma could hea…'_

'_INUI!' _

The tensais screamed happily in unison in their minds. They knew where to go; the question was how they could go there without getting killed by Akito. They gazed to the brown-furred manbeast, noted the blood all over the fur and the five tails which waved around, squirted the blood every where.

_'GO! I'll distract him with Sanada and Inui. You need to save Ryoma!'_

'_Alright.' _

The next action went on too fast, Ryoma couldn't register them. The brown-furred manbeast attacked Akito, bit the young man in the shoulder and got cut with the sword on his chest. The black-furred one jumped as well at the red-haired man and cut him along his spine with his sharp claws but got hurt by the neck. Piercing screams filled the room but Ryoma didn't note them as he was dragged along with the two tensais. They sprinted in a dark room, only golden eyes glowed across the darkness, and someone whispered something to them. The young teen couldn't understand a single word but was surprised when Ryoga touch his shoulder for a few seconds and climbed all of a sudden out of the window in front of them. A cracking noise made the tensais fear. Without even thinking, they lifted Ryoma up to the broken window. Ryoma looked one more time back.

'_What about the others? Are they going to be okay?'_

Then he jumped outside out of reflex and into the coldness of the lightly snowstorm. He was followed by two other people. The brothers shivered but Ryoma got taken by the hands and got dragged further into the forest. The sounds of crashes grew louder, the shrieks were heartbreaking and soon they stopped.

Everything was white and hard to see. The snow hit them in the face, nevertheless the grip on his hands only tightened and a hand laid on his waist. Ryoma tripped twice in a hole of snow but was held safely by his two future-lovers. His brother pushed him forward, not knowing where to go but following. A shot echoed in the forest and the four teen sped up. A dark shadow at the end of their way made them stop. Fuji and Yukimura pulled Ryoma immediately to the left, trying to escape the person in front of them. Another shot filled the air and this time it had reached its destination.

* * *

It was foolish of Akito to take a break in a house in the forest which belonged to Inui and Yanagi for their experiments. Atobe had once built the place and left it into the two datamen's hands. Inui had changed into his human form, was rushing in the laboratory and mixing his special Inui Juices Ao/Midori Version 2. He dropped just a few drops of it into his friends' mouth. One manbeast after another started to cough badly and tried to choke up the acid-like liquid – but strangely regained their strength. They turned back unconsciously into human form, were on hands and knees or lying on the bloody floor. Most of them had only some lightly bruises which would heal soon.

"We're still alive! We are!" Momo shouted joyfully and exhausted while he lay on the floor - not daring to move a single inch - with a happy smile on his face. The worst part was over for now.

"Fshuu, sure we are! Have you thought we would die because of Akito? Stupid peach!" Kaidoh hissed while he got nursed from his mate. The two rivals exchanged some other curses - they couldn't move so nothing more happened - while their friends and family started to chat and share the happiness. They all had heard the worry in their little master's thoughts, when he had left through the window. Maybe now they would have the chance to clear the mess up and get him to trust them.

"I'm so tired. I never thought Akito was hating us soo much, nya. Are we really the bad guys?" Eiji asked helplessly and relaxed his head in his lover's lap as he also lay onto the ground. Oishi inhaled a sharp breath from the sudden weight over his wounded legs but let his mate stay. He would have kissed and hugged him but sadly, he couldn't move without feeling the sharp pain and the numbness. The room got silent for a few minutes.

"Do you believe the four can reach the building before Akito reach them? Shouldn't we run after them and try to help? What if… if Ryoma got hurt? Or maybe Akito kills them and then we're…." Sweat drops run down his temples and panic rushed across Oishi's body. It was a disaster when you weren't able to move, thanks to a very inedible and awful drink. It was the little side effect for still living. The wounds of the three and four tailed manbeasts were already healing but the older ones of them would need blood to do that.

"We would like to help but…well…can anybody of you move?" Marui asked and tried hopelessly to throw a green bubblegum in his mouth. Sadly, it flew over his shoulder and to the ground – far away from him. Snickers, giggles and laughs ensued the failure. Marui sighed deeply and pouted, let himself fall back with a yell of pain and lay on his spine.

"Tezuka, what are we doing from now on? I mean with Ryoma." Momo asked shyly after he had ended his voice-fight with Kaidoh – it was too tiring. The spiky-haired teen liked his master, saw him like a little brother even if he knew him only for a day. He had heard the boy's worry but would the young teen accept them completely as manbeasts, too?

"…" No answer. Their leader kept silent. It was up to Fuji and Yukimura to protect their love from now on. They were still worried none the less and had the feeling that Akito would be the reason for it. Their former master was strong and had the ability to be faster as a manbeast. As soon as Ryoma would accept them and fulfil the pact - by drinking the blood of a manbeast and giving his blood to at least one of them – the teen would get a special ability, too. The one-sided connection they had now allowed the boy to heal the slightly wounds by touching them.

"Tezuka? Everything fine?" Jackal asked from the middle of the room from the dirty and blood stained floor - it was more than uncomfortable and ugly. Nobody received an answer from their stoic, calm and collect captain. Their leader leaned against a wall, his eyes close, his face pale and mixed with blood and sweat. The view frightened them.

"Inui, what have you given him? Haven't you given him enough of your..." Eiji didn't want to say juice or drink to Inui's creation as it would be never ever something even near that. "...thing?" The liquid was this time thrilling green and blue, sometimes it was pink or even black but it had saved them from dying. At the other side of the room, lay one more manbeast on the ground - panting and groaning from the pain. Sanada wasn't in any better state. He was also leaning against a wall, his eyes shut and mouth slightly open, he didn't look any better.

"I have given him enough, even more than all of you. I don't know why he reacts.." Inui spoke more to himself as to his family and disappeared in his room again. Had he forgotten something to mix in the juice? Why wasn't it working by Tezuka and Sanada? He needed to find a solution and the problems. How should he feed his five-tailed friends?

_'I hope the other Shadows won't come now. We all need time to recover or otherwise we will be all dead! I hope that my guess is false!' _

Tezuka's eyes were close and he fell into a dreamless sleep. His wound at his chest burnt - he would need blood quickly and he was sure Inui was already doing something about his problem. His heart bounced strongly against his chest where the cut was - blood was still streaming out. The toxic inside his blood ran through his veins and burnt along his flesh. His strength floated away and his body changed. He needed blood - immediately!

* * *

"RYOMA!"

"I said you will pay for your decision years ago!" Akito held the gun - which he had under his clothes just like his sword - tightly in his right hand and pointed with it at the small person in the snow. Blood ran out of the body and the snow turned red after a few seconds. Fuji and Yukimura hovered worriedly over their beauty while Ryoga shielded them with his own shaking body. The snowstorm made it pretty hard to stand straight but he managed to hold himself on his feet.

"Out of the way or you're the next one!" He threatened and pointed the gun exactly between Ryoga's eyes. An unnoticed teen stood close to the scene next to a tree and chuckled to himself. The snowstorm hid his presence as he approached the group.

_'So you are Echizen Ryoma? The last one?'_


	9. Come Back To Me

**Disclaimer: Do not own anything!**

* * *

**_~~ Come Back To Me ~~_**

**_~~ 13. December, Night ~~_**

His heart thumped slower with every minute. The fire in his body and the burning feeling floated quietly away and changed into numbness. The voices, who kept calling him, faded slowly out of his mind while his body was left unmoved on the ground. His life streamed slowly out of him. The poison filled his blood and the death whispered sweet, soothing words to him. The black shadows and the darkness around him were taking him to an unknown place and as he thought his life was over, a lovely and familiar voice caught his last, weak attention.

'_Gen, are you coming with me? I heard that…'_

'_Morning Gen…'_

'_Gen, you have some nerves!'_

Sweet memories with so much pain circled in front of his eyes - repeated itself over and over again. He was always _just_ a friend, a good friend or one of the best friends but never – not even once – had he been a lover to anyone. Too long had he chased after his one-sided love. Why couldn't he give up and leave? Find someone new who would love him back?

'_You won't leave me, right? You'll never leave me alone.'_

'_Promise me that we'll be always friends!'_

'_You're like a brother to me, thank you.'_

A single tear slid down his right cheek. Their promise which he wouldn't hold. The death and the lonely silence were so close to grab. A little further and he would finally leave the pain and the empty feeling.

'_I'm sorry that I can't stand next to you anymore but I'm tired of chasing after an unrequited love. I hope you can forgive me.'_

His breath was only a small breeze, nothing more.

* * *

"Hands off from my baby brother!" It took him all his braveness to say at least anything. Ryoga was still standing before his wounded brother and the two tensais. He didn't know what they did behind him but he heard some skin slash open with something sharp. The older brother hadn't the guts to look around as he had a bad feeling in seeing a scene which he didn't want to see.

"Out. Of. My. Way. NOW!" Akito's eyes burnt literally a hole in the already shaking boy and Ryoga took unconsciously a step back. Mistake! Akito shot anew. Not between the eyes but right into the emerald-haired teen's left leg. The older brother shrieked up at the incoming ache, fell onto the snowy ground while Ryoma whined from another wave of pain. The red-haired man walked past the teen and right to the three human. The night was silent and quiet, only the snowstorm rushed over them.

"You don't want to mess up with my master, do you?" Called a voice behind a tree and approached them. Akito turned around, with his gun still in his hand and pointing at Ryoma. Syusuke bit with his fangs in his arm and let the blood run down into his love's mouth. The dark green-haired teen obeyed and drank the given blood while Seiichi took care of his wound. The taste and the smell were different. The blood tasted sweet and somehow exotic but smelled just like some other blood - kind of metallic.

'_Drink, Ryoma. The pain will be gone soon.'_

'_Akito will pay for hurting you!'_

Ryoma shivered more by the sharp and deadly tone while his two '_lovers'_ feed and warmed him. The newcomer in front of them had spiky, white hair and orange colored eyes*. His smirk made him look like an arrogant teen who loved it to mess up with other people. "Akutsu, long time not seen. I thought you were in Alaska? Coming back after hearing the news?" Akito laughed and still pointed the gun at Ryoma. The two tensais looked each other in the eyes for a moment and talked per telepathy about their next step and with another nod they had made their decision.

'_Ryoma, we'll move. It will hurt a bit but we're going to be careful.'_

'_Everything will be fine. We have almost reached the building.'_

A small whimper escaped Ryoma's mouth as his body was moved upwards and got carried by some soft hands. The boy saw something sparkle out of the corner of his eyes and was shortly after laid down on something soft with a beautiful heat and a warm, fuzzy fur.

'_This feels so nice. What is it?'_

'_Good to hear you like my fur, honey.'_

The emerald-haired teen didn't get the hint of Fuji's statement but he noticed that he or the thing with the amazing heat was moving with him on top. Yukimura transformed into his natural form too and turned to Akito. Fuji took step after step, slowly getting away from his foe and to the destination but stopped every time when Akito made any signal to shot at him. In the meantime, Akutsu tried to distract the red-haired man with his frightening presence as he understood the new plan of his some-sort-of-friends.

"You should know, every manbeast is on his way here. We'll protect and fight for our brat of master, so better piss off!" The white-haired teen's voice was rough and dangerous. He walked forward, stopped only three feet before Akito and hushed the two words with all the quietness he had. "Get lost!"

"I'm much stronger than most of you manbeasts. So why should I fear any of you?" Akito didn't know at who he should keep an eye. Yukimura tiptoed on his paws to the whining Ryoga and poked him with his nose at his shoulder. The older brother looked up with half-lidded eyes. The manbeast pulled him on his feet and helped him to stand while the other two men talked.

"You were our master for only half a year so you hardly know everything about us. Your ability makes you faster but not stronger and you don't know how powerful and protective we can be if it involves our own life, too. I give you a little chance to run away before _we_ all are going to hunt _you_ down!" A little sparkle of fear crossed Akito's eyes. It was true, he had never seen all the manbeasts or so many as a few minutes ago. A few years ago had been more than one master lived here. The fight a few minutes ago, he had made it barely without injuries – his shoulder and spine hurt from the attack of Tezuka and Sanada. His spine bled strangely and his vision wasn't the best anymore. The little action had cost him more energy and blood as he would have thought. He would faint, if he wouldn't take care of his wounds quickly.

"You're lucky. I'll let them alive. I love to play games!" Akito lied and hoped no one saw behind his mask. He sprinted away along the forest and let the two unconscious boys and three overworked manbeasts behind. Akutsu change his formed and was able to talk with his more or less friends, and went up to them.

'_Thanks for the help, Akutsu.'_

Fuji thanked and wobbled up to his best friend.

'_So this is our brat? Pretty girly… and short.'_

Came the answer from the white-haired teen as he eyed the figure over Fuji's body.

'_But that makes him even more adorable, don't you think?'_

'_So he is your next victim? Be careful. You two don't want to blow up with him like you did with Akito, do you?'_

'_No, don't worry. We won't repeat our mistakes.'_

The brown-furred manbeast spoke and purred when Ryoma's slightly warm breath touched his ear.

_'Haven't you two said you would never want to share a lover again?'_

'_Ryoma is…different. He won't betray us like Akito did! It had been Akito who had led us in a trap! We should hurry before Ryoma and Ryoga freeze in the coldness.'_

'_Alright, let's go to the old building.'_

Syusuke nodded and began to walk when Akutsu stopped them.

'_Old building? If you mean the ruined place - it's damaged. I was there a few minutes ago but couldn't get inside. The snowstorm had destroyed the place.'_

The hoarse voice spoke against the snowstorm, which had finally gotten to a nearly end, and took some steps backwards.

'…'

'_Then let's go back to the others. Akito won't come back for now. He was bleeding too strong and wouldn't dare to attack us again!'_

Syusuke suggested and glanced to Seiichi and the human over him. Ryoga's breath was shallow. The blood rushed out of his leg and down into the pure white snow.

_'Good idea. Akutsu, are you….'_

Seiichi glanced around but nowhere was a sign from his friend. The teen had vanished all of a sudden without saying anything.

_'That's so like him! He could at least help us!'_

'_Doesn't matter! Hurry, Ryoma needs more blood and he has a fever.'_

The blue-furred manbeast agreed and they started to run with their own pain in their bones. The wounds from the fight re-opened and bled again but they didn't dare to stop. They could rest after they reached the house.

**_~~ 13. December, Nearly Midnight ~~_**

"INUI! HURRY!" They screamed as their leader and Sanada didn't response at any of their questions. Too high body heat, eyes closed and body unmoved – that was never a good sign. The '_doctor_' walked out with some '_healthy drinks'_ in his hands and gazed over the scene.

"Do something! Tezuka and Sanada are dying! NYA!" Eiji screamed in fear and dragged his body over to his lover's lap. He was one of the few who could barely move again. Inui closely flew to his leader and friend and tried to find the problem. The fight against Akito was some hours ago, the oblivious wounds had already disappeared, after Kirihara had given his blood to Tezuka*², but the cut at Kunimitsu's chest was still there just like the cut at Sanada's neck. His juices hadn't worked even after he had improved them and gave them to his friends anew, it was hopeless. The poison seemed to be too strong and took with every further minute another piece of their strength.

"I…I…" He was speechless. Never had he failed like this. Never had he looked at his family without being able to help. Why now? How?

"INUI! You're our last hope! Do something, PLEASE!" Oishi shouted and caressed Eiji's hair. Every manbeast in the room prayed to their so called doctor, hoped he had any idea to help them but only a miracle with dark green hair could maybe save them now and this wonder was somewhere at the other end of the forest, probably sleeping and resting.

"..I…I have..no idea. I don't know…what to do!" The glasses-wearing teen was stunned and fell to the ground with his juices all over the floor – mixed with the old blood. The mood was ruined by the worry and fear when the door slammed open with a crash and two manbeasts, covered in snow, tripped inside.

First at all, they all stared in disbelief at the newcomer but regenerated in the next few seconds and started to move. Eiji, Yanagi, Kaidoh and Momo – the only ones who could somehow move – walked up to them and pulled the two boys from their backs. "Oi, what had happened?" Momo pulled down the snow covered figure from Fuji and heard loudly next to his ear – where the head of the figure rested – a painful scream. Just then he noted the gun wound over the teen's chest.

"He got shot? Would explain the slightly pain in our bodies." Yanagi asked a bit worried and helped the spiky-haired teen. They carried him carefully and gently as much as possible and stopped in their movement when Yanagi had suddenly a brilliant idea. They lay the half-unconscious Ryoma into Tezuka lap, got two loud growls for this action from two certain manbeasts and dragged Sanada next to Ryoma. The three touched each other lightly.

"Fshuu, what are you doing, Yanagi?" The viper asked, grabbed the other person over Yukimura's back. The teen hissed in pain and was carefully dragged over to the bedroom by Kaidoh and Eiji.

"I think I have just rescued our leader and Sanada. Have you forgotten which effect Ryoma has on us when he touches us after we have a one-sided connection? Look!" Everyone stared at their master in the arms of their leader and friend and was stunned. It was true - the cuts were healing inch after inch and very slowly but the blood was still streaming down. The bond was too weak and their master was hurt, too. "We need human blood to feed our five-tail ones. Does anybody of you know where we get it from? Kirihara can't bear anymore blood loss." Inui stated with full hope, now they were in a completely new situation. All gazes stopped at the older brother of their little master on the bed in the next room.

"I think, _that _isn't a very good idea, really isn't!" Momo spoke, shook his head and sat down on the ground where no blood stayed. Meanwhile, Syusuke and Seiichi turned back into human form and wobbled over to their love with their last strength.

"Ryoma has a fever, too. Take care of that!" Seiichi said and fell just like Syusuke into a deep, short sleep while they touched Ryoma's arms and legs.

"Okay. It seems we need more than one human to feed them. We need enough people, at least three who aren't too old or sick. Atobe, can you send some of your maids over here?" Yanagi questioned and helped the two tensais to get in contact with their love. Inui continued to think over their new situation. It would take some time before Ryoma would wake up and also would it be the same for Sanada. Tezuka would need blood before he would be able to move again, just like Atobe, Fuji and Yukimura.

"No.. too weak…hungry.." Atobe hushed and let himself fall back to sleep. Eiji and Kaidoh came back from the room after they had bandaged the boy's gun wound.

"What can we do now? The elders are nearly dead and starving and our master has also a shot wound and needs the blood from one of the five-tailed ones to let his injuries heal faster! It can't be worse, nya!" Eiji shouted sadly and made the limb boy in Tezuka's arms moan in discomfort. Every manbeast gave the loud teen an evil glare to shut him up. The red head sat immediately down with a guilty expression; he hadn't wanted to wake their little one up.

"Eiji, Kaidoh and Momo, you all can move?" Yanagi asked after a moment while Inui scribble wildly in his notebook and the called people nodded. "The snowstorm had stopped for now, go and search for some people. It doesn't matter how they look, just take them and bring them here. I'll take care of Ryoma. Hurry!"

The three teen jumped up and stumbled out of the house with slightly obstacles. The others change their form to warm themselves better up. They tried to snuggle against each other's fur and let themselves fall into dreamland for a few minutes. Inui was the only one who stayed awake – he made a new version of his new Inui Juice, which should help them, after he had given some painkillers and water to Ryoma and took care of the shot wound as good as possible. The house grew silent and dark. The moon shone above the house and let its light fall into the room through the windows. Would a stranger see inside the room across the window, he would see only some furballs with different colors.

* * *

"Cole, Akito it on the phone. He wants to speak to you." Chorne reached the phone over to Cole and went out of the room. His partner didn't sound very happy nor did he seem to have the last master in his hands which would make Cole pretty furious. He walked out of their hotel and down the empty country road. The moon guided him along the street and out of the fields – near a forest. Something attracted him to go the way and he couldn't help as to follow his feelings. It was scary to jog along the lonely streets at night and near the forest. Memories of old times came back in his mind, good and bad ones.

He was once the master of the manbeasts from America but right now he was one of the deadliest chasers. Chorne joined the '_Shadows_' right after he was chased out from his position. The young man would never forget the day when they had thrown him out of their little family. What had he done wrong? Had he made such a big mistake and which was it? A rustle from the forest made him take out his black sword. It was never a bad thing to think about one's own safety!

* * *

They ran fast out of the forest. The snowstorm had finally stopped and only a few snowflakes were still hovering down. The noises from the bushes had mostly discovered them already so they didn't make any action to hide their presence but the last person they would have expected to be there, stood suddenly right in front of them. "Oh, oh." Eiji spoke and acted first at all. Momo and Kaidoh followed him – far away from the hunter. Chorne stood there bluntly and speechless. The three were definitely manbeasts but he couldn't take his eyes away from the red-haired one.

'_Such a beauty! NO! Stop it Chorne! You have abandoned them! They'll only hurt you again!'_

His heart flattered, his body was shivering from joy and his mask disappeared for a second. The mask, he wore every time he was close to Cole or Akito. The two were the one who truly wanted the manbeasts to be dead but the brown-haired male had the feeling that also Lloyd was more for the creature instead of against them.

**_~~ 14. December, After Midnight ~~_**

_The sounds around him were numb and hard to understand. He felt the grateful heat all around him, the fuzzy and soft blanket over his body and the soothing touch of something gentle. The voices spoke with one another but left him confused, the movements began to slow down and in the next moment they had entirely stopped. A few minutes later he got moved anew and moaned from the horrible and burning pain. The young teen got carried over to something warm and soft. His new pillow was perfect and the blankets, which followed slowly after were unbelievable fuzzy but warm. It tickled his skin. _

_The young teen couldn't really sleep but couldn't bring the strength up to move his body or even open his eyes, so he stayed in his half-awaken but unmovable position. The pain somewhere near his right chest bounced in him, with every move – even if it was a single finger of his right hand – came another storm of ache across his heart and pressed the air out of him for a few seconds. A voice brought him out of his dreamless nap._

"…back…. food ….hurry… them… drink…."

_And shortly after this talk, his pillow and the blankets got moved and the coldness hit him. He moaned in disagree and was stunned by his own hoarse voice. His throat was dry and wound even when he swallowed down his own saliva. Now that someone had mentioned food, yeah – he was hungry, he was starving and to agree with his feeling his stomach growled loudly._

"…hungry…too….feed him…."

_'Can't they speak in whole sentences? I can't understand them! I'm starving and I want the pain in my chest to stop!'_

_As soon as he had voiced it in his head, he was moved into another welcoming heat and something warm and slightly wet lay on his lips, nibbled on his button lip. The thing over his lips tasted sweet and seductive. He open the mouth to taste the new something over his lips better and the sweet, unknown liquid ran down his throat once more. He swallowed without thinking, only obeying the soothing words which were whispered gently in his ear. The burning feeling over his skin turned into small tickles._

_'You can drink as much as you want.'_  
_'Wake up, sleeping beauty. We're all waiting for you. __Open your beautiful eyes.'_

* * *

"We're back. The food is ready; you should hurry and feed them before they get crazy and drink Ryoma's brother, nya!"

It was past midnight when Eiji and the other two came back with three unconscious people in their arms. The other manbeasts stayed in their beast form, except the five-tailed ones who were all the time in their human form. Atobe was the first one to drink the blood, his eyes turned golden and his power returned slowly with ever sip. Fuji and Yukimura shared one person as to leave his other friend enough food. Inui and Yanagi tried to wake up Tezuka, without success. Atobe bit in the human's flesh and gave his lover the needy blood through mouth-to-mouth. Everyone chuckled as Atobe moved Tezuka a bit and their master began to moan in disagreement followed by two loud growling stomach.

"It seems like Ryoma is hungry, too. Fuji, have you enough strength, yet? We can feed him together." The blue-haired tensai asked his friend and received a nod as an answer.

'_Can't he speak in whole sentences? I can't understand it! I'm starving and I want the pain in my chest to stop!'_

The thought ran along every manbeast's head and they couldn't help as to laugh or giggle even more. The ones who were in their human form didn't understood why their friends were laughing their brains out of their heads. The two tensais walked over to their love, carried him carefully to the unharmed couch and laid him down. Ryoma's head rested at Seiichi's knees and his feet over Jackal's legs.

Marui, Eiji, Niou, Kaidoh and some other manbeasts, who were already laying near the couch, snuggled closer to their master and touched him slightly with their fingertips or noses - fearing they could scare him if they would touch him too much. A satisfied moan escaped Ryoma's mouth and they sniggered more, happy their little prince liked their touch. Kirihara was curled up in the corner, jealous at all the attention. Syusuke bowed down and kissed his love's lips, nibbling at the bottom lip to ask for entrance. To his surprise, the teen let him in and soon after the brown-haired teen slipped his tongue inside the wet cavern, he pulled back. The two tensais bit in their wrists, drank the blood but didn't swallow it. They put in turns their own lips against the sleeping boy's while the red liquid floated down the teen's throat as he swallowed the sweet liquid without hesitation.

_'Drink as much as you want.'_  
_'Wake up, sleeping beauty. We're all waiting for you.'_

They all watched quietly how their little one drank the last drop of blood, his new food, gratefully. Syusuke licked away the blood stains which streamed down Ryoma's chin while Seiichi caressed the prince's bloody-red lips and slightly pink cheeks. "It's a good sign. He had drunk the blood without a second thought. It seems like he starts to trust us. Good new data!" Inui scribbled in his book with Yanagi beside him, correcting him.

"Don't get too excited, Sadaharu. You forgot, he isn't fully awake. How will he react if he hears that he needs to drink our blood because the human's food won't satisfy him anymore?" Yanagi, the professor, asked and glanced over to the sleeping boy at the couch, surrounded by the furballs and the two lovebirds.

Tezuka was as good as back to normal and was sleeping in his mate's arms right now. Their leader had woken up and had opened his eyes a bit, just to stare in Atobe's eyes for a second before he got kissed passionately. Some of the manbeasts' jaws had fallen to the ground. It was more than rare to see their leader in such an intimated situation! Sanada on the other side hadn't made any moves or sounds - only the thin breaths could be heard. They lay Ryoma in Sanada's lap for another time and waited. "C'mon Gen. You need to wake up!" Seiichi looked up from his love and to his closest friend, tried over and over again to make him open his eyes or move a finger but it was in vain. "Please! You can't leave me! Gen!"

No reaction, only a thin breath and a weak pulse. The eyes were shut and the head rested against the edge of the wall. Were they too late? Was he already dying? Couldn't anybody help him, his brother, who cared for him? Seiichi had noticed the intensive gazes, the love-filled eyes on him but didn't want tell his friend about it. The stoic man needed at least to jump over his bad shadow if he wanted him! The blue-haired teen knew it would never be more than brotherly love but the hope never left. Was it wrong not to tell the boy anything? Was it his fault that his brother had no more strength to live? The guilt took place in his heart and overwhelmed him. The doubting feelings ate him up and he couldn't stop the tears anymore as they welled out of his eyes and down his cheeks.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry for what I have done to you!" He cried as Syusuke embraced and kissed him on the cheek, tried to calm his friend. Sanada was the closest friend of Seiichi as they were childhood friends but now… his long-time friend was dying and would die if no miracle would happen.

* * *

In the hospital a man woke up with a scared face and eyes wide open. His vision was blurry and his clothes were drowned in cold sweat while the fear for his sons grew. His shoulder was badly injured just like the other parts of his body but, nonetheless he stumbled out of the bed and sneaked out of the hospital. His eyes showed the rage and the hate against the ones who had dared to take his beloved and precious children. Hadn't he left the manbeasts to protect his new family? Hadn't they said it was okay? The man went along the dark streets, turned around the corner and bumped into someone.

"So we meet again, Nanjiroh. I have finally found you."


	10. An Unknown Connection

**Disclaimer: Do not own anything.**

* * *

**_~~ An Unknown Connection ~~_**

**_~~ 14. December, Midday ~~_**

"So you agree to our little agreement?" The man in black asked and took another deep breath from his cigarette.

"Yes, under the one condition! Don't forget that I have only agreed to you under this one condition!" Nanjiroh spoke honestly and gritted with his teeth. He had no other choice. He hoped his family could and would forgive him one day.

'_I'm sorry, Rinko. I did something horrible! I could only save one of our sons.'_

"Good, then let's go. We're going to train you before we meet up with them anew. Akito wasn't as successful as we thought. So we're going to attack when we're strong enough. I'm close to fulfill my dearest wish and I'll reach my goal!" Cole spoke more to himself than to his new member. They had the master's father a.k.a. ex-master of the manbeasts, soon enough they would have someone who had even more influence of the little prince.

'_I'm curious how you'll react and decide, little master!'_

* * *

The creatures were back to normal - gambling, fighting, loving and making fun of each other. They all had turned back into human form for safety before Ryoma would see them and would try to run away anew. Sanada and Ryoma had been carried into the room where Ryoga had slept before. The older brother got dragged to the hospital when the weather had calmed down and was sleeping there with Yanagi as a bodyguard if something should happen to him. Ryoma slept in the whole time in Sanada's weak arm in the bed. Both hadn't moved or reacted in any way, only sleeping in the bed and breathing calmly. They all felt the strange bond between them so they let them stay together as for not to cut the new bond.

Fuji and Yukimura didn't leave their prince's side, not even when their family brought them '_food'_ - the two hadn't eaten, more or less, enough the last time. They drank quickly, swallowed and let his friends remove the dead bodies. As long as their Ryoma hadn't completed the pact with them, they were still uncontrolled. They cleaned the mess up in the rooms while the day flew out of their hands. The night came in a rush.

**_~~ 15. December, Dawn ~~_**

They were interrupted in their activities by a surprising sound. The male teens turned their heads in the direction where the sound came from and were surprised to see their prince in tears. They rushed to his side and tried to figure out what was wrong but no one could see any painful bruises on Ryoma's body. The wound at his chest would be there for two or three more days but the pain should have been gone by now or only appear if the boy would move too much. The last master hadn't woken up since the two tensais had brought him in the house and had given him their blood.

"Yukimura, can you tell us what he needs?" Atobe asked worriedly and stroke with his right hand over the boy's forehead. The two tensais stared at the hand with golden, glowing eyes for a short moment but relaxed shortly after the hand was taken away. The king didn't get any reaction from the teen, not even a change of position or an uncomfortable moan. At the same time, Fuji was stroking Ryo's cheek with his right hand and holding the young teen's hand in his left. The bluenette nodded, bowed down to his love, let their foreheads touch each other and focused on one special thought in the room – Ryoma's thought.

* * *

_A little boy with short, black hair and a cap on his head walked behind another child which wore a kimono. At the first sight, the child looked like a girl but on a closer look, he saw it was a boy, too. The kid had dark, blue hair, a beautiful face, soft and creamy skin. The thing which took all his attention was the pair of violet eyes – like an shining amethyst._

_The boy with the cap followed the beauty everywhere and when they reached the playground, the beautiful boy turned around and faced his follower. A small smile and sparkling eyes on his fine face._

'It had never been anyone else, only you!'

Another scene played now in front of his eyes.

_The boy with the cap was older now and alone, sitting at his desk and scribbling something down on a piece of paper. The door behind him opened quietly and the boy with dark, blue hair walked silently inside the room. He tiptoed to the boy in the chair and viewed over his shoulder._

"_What are you writing?"  
The beauty asked with a soft voice and made the other boy jolt. The pen fell down to the ground, the paper was grabbed and hid under the desk. The boy with the cap blushed crimson and stuttered shyly._

"_N-Nothing…"_

'I never wanted you to know that it was a love letter for you. I wrote it only for myself, to make sure my feelings were true. I feared you would break every connection to me if I told you. Can you forgive me for loving you?'

* * *

"So..?" Atobe asked impatiently and stroke Ryoma's bangs out of the shut eyes.

"…" Yukimura was mute and still like a stone. Why had his love memories of his childhood time with Sanada? Who showed his memories to Ryoma? Or maybe…

No, that couldn't be, could it? The guilty feeling grew stronger when he had recognized his friend's thought and remembered them.

'_It should be me asking you for forgiveness! I'm sorry! Please, wake up. I want to tell you, I'm sorry. I need you!'_

"So...?" Atobe questioned again and frowned as he still didn't get any reaction. Before he walked back to his lover, who had been sitting in an easy chair all the time, he stroke the pale cheek of his master. The diva sat down on his boyfriend's lap and laid his arm around Tezuka's shoulder. The leader looked angry for a moment, wanted to push the arm away but he was far too weak. He would need more human blood or his master's blood but as he saw it, Ryoma wouldn't give his sweet, red liquid to him soon. He would need to rely on Kirihara once more or another human who was dumb enough to pass by. Yeah, something like Kirihara, they had never seen anything like that. The boy was a half. His father was a manbeast - his mother a human. The genes of the mother side were stronger and made him weaker as a manbeast - because of it he had only two tails. His blood was the same as a human's but the teen could still change his form.

'_He shouldn't be able to… I can't explain it.' _Yukimura glance up to the smiling Fuji, he ignored the glares from their friends, who knew that they had one of their mind-conversation now, and viewed in clear, blue eyes.

'_Saa, perhaps he has already accept us?' _The mask was on his face once more. The little hand in his was twitching from time to time – a good sign. The boy was slowly waking up.

'_But... he needs to complete the bond to…' _Yukimura didn't even hear the questions from the others and stared down to the two unconscious people when he noticed too the slightly change of their love.

'_He's waking up. I think we shouldn't be so close to him. The last time he saw us, he was scared as hell.' _Fuji smile widen when the small hand grabbed his. The way-too-happy-smile made the other manbeasts back away and leave the five-tailed ones alone in the room with Ryoma in Sanada's arm.

'_Wrong, the last time he saw us, we were in our manbeast form and he had tried to run away but stopped halfway as I had looked and pleaded to him. It means he wasn't too much scared of us and he feels something for us.'_

They stopped their… fight as the boy began to stir and toss his head and body to another side, he gasped at the sudden pain but his eyes reminded closed.

* * *

"Good morning, my princess." Someone hushed in Ryoma's right ear while another one kissed his collarbone. The boy reacted out of instinct and slapped his hand around in the air, shooing the sound away. The sudden touch on his cheek made him jump out of the bed, run to the other side of the room; totally disoriented and confused. He held his head with his left hand as everything was still waving in front of his eyes and wouldn't stop moving. His other hand reached out and wavered around to hold his balance. His legs couldn't hold him anymore and he slid down the wall to the floor. His brain needed a little bit time to work again and the memories hammered down at him.

'_The creatures which I feared,  
the strange dream of the two boys,  
the creatures who had saved me from Akito and  
Akito who had shot at me in the forest.  
Akito!' _

His head shot up once more, his breath had risen up just like his pulse. He tried to breath calmly and deeply but he nearly hyperventilated.

'_Akito…Where is Akito? I'm alive? My wound? I got shot but….? The storm and…the others! Are they all right? Ryoga? What about the old man?'_

"Your brother is fine and in the hospital right at the moment. Akito is…" The person paused for a moment. "...you're safe right now and everybody here is fine. Thanks for the worry." A soft and angel-like voice said from his right side. Ryoma hadn't noticed the closeness between him and the brunette. The brunette was still standing too far away as to touch him. The young teen was relieved, they were alright but it was still hard to breath. Something took his air away and pressed hard on his chest. He turned his head slowly to the right and gazed in clear blue eyes. Ryoma was closely drowning in the color and was amazed it truly gave such a gorgeous color. It made him forget the last few hours of death and blood.

'_Like a pure ocean or the sky.'_

'_I'm happy you like my eyes. Thanks for the compliment!'_

Ryoma shrieked back, didn't understand for a moment what had just happened before he remembered what Akito had said.

"You can hear my thoughts?" He asked curiously, just to make sure it was true. The person on the right side moved closer. The unnoticed people smiled at him and looked nervously through the open door while Fuji knelt down and lifted his right hand to comfort his love but Ryoma shrugged away, still scared of them. The small prince admitted, there was something shoving him and telling him to trust them but the fear of every human didn't go away from only one unbelievable feeling. These creatures were strong enough to fight against him and kill him.

Fuji's heart was ripped into pieces; he couldn't even touch the person he wanted to be close to. How long would it take them to make him theirs? Fuji nodded in front of a sceptic Ryoma and the emerald-haired teen noticed only then the warmth before him and looked in slow motion straight forward. A pair of clear violet eyes – like an amethyst - locked him. Ryoma frowned as he remembered where he had seen them before.

'_Are these the same eyes as from my dream?'_

Without noting, he leaned closer to these eyes, but didn't touch Yukimura. The emerald-haired boy drowned himself in them, trying to find out if it were the same eyes from his strange dream. They affected him like a magnet, took all his attention away. As Ryoma's face was close to Seiichi's, he felt his breath. The bluenette leaned closer, broke the distance entirely and kissed softly and lightly the trance-like boy.

A light humming feeling rushed along the master's body. The young teen's eyes slowly shut but snapped open when he recognized what exactly he was doing. His hands pushed away the person with full force. The teen stumbled back. The feeling on his lips felt right but wrong, it wasn't his heart which broke in two but whose was it then? The emerald-haired teen didn't note the hurt look on Seiichi's face as another series of picture floated in his head. His hands were back on his head, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't hear how the other people spoke and nearly shouted at him or see how they closed the distance.

* * *

_The boy was now a teen, his short, black hair made him look handsome and beautiful. He walked straight to the tennis courts with his bag over his shoulder.  
The pupils' eyes were directed at him with admiration and addiction but his eyes lay only at one special teen with dark blue hair.  
The screams from the girls were uncontrolled, two beauties at one place was too much for the female students._

_The eyes from the bluenette showed happiness and freedom - the eyes of the other male were filled with longing and sadness whenever he looked to his friend._

'You were and are the only thing I want.'

Another scene.

_Snow covered the creatures with glowing eyes in an old building. One of the many beasts shivered and whimpered from the freezing cold.  
A manbeast with brown fur and another with black fur snuggled closer to him and shared their heat with him._

'Don't worry. You're never alone. I'll always be there.'

* * *

"We don't know what Akito had told you about us but we would never hurt you like he did! We see you as a part of our family and we wouldn't just use you to live longer. What are you so afraid of? Yeah, it is true that we tried to... kill you at our first meeting but we haven't, right? If we wanted to, we would have done it already. What shall we do to earn your trust? I don't want to lose you, too. It's enough if Sanada is nearly dying!" Seiichi shouted and a tear welled out of his eye. Weak. He felt pathetic and weak. His life crumbled whenever Genichirou wasn't there. Syusuke rushed up to him, followed by Kunimitsu and Keigo, and took him in an embrace. They had been happy, their bluenette had stopped crying a few hours ago. Now was everything starting from the beginning again?

"Shh... it's alright. Gen will wake up." The smaller brunette kissed his forehead and pulled their heads together. "He'll wake up and Ryoma will see, we aren't as scary as he thinks. Give them time."

"Maybe tomorrow the brat will understand how many of us care for him." Atobe stroke the blue hair and put his free hand around his lover's waist. Ryoma had curled up in a ball and had rested his spinning head on his shaking knees which he had pressed against his hammering chest with his arms around the legs. Everything was like a bad dream or a nightmare. In the few days he had arrived here, he had seen more unbelievable thing as an old man with grey hair. Since when was it real to see such monsters of animals or see people who were faster than a car? It couldn't be true but he couldn't forget the pictures in his head which he had seen, especially the last one.

The three creatures, taller than a person and with sharp teeth and claws. Their fur was long and fuzzy with different colors; their golden eyes glowed in the darkness and showed everyone their dangerous personality; their howls made everybody shiver and let everybody know they were near. It couldn't be real but the pain in his chest made him believe it was real, someone whispered in his head, he should trust them and believe them but could he really do it? He had never trusted somebody so far as to trust the person with his life. Why was everything so damn complicated? What should he do? Where was his brother when he needed him? Why was everything around him getting black?

"Fuji, Yukimura, I think you two should carry him back to the bed, it seems he is in no good condition." The stoic leader was back to normal. The two tensais nodded, walked carefully to their love and carried him back to the bed in Sanada's arms. First, they were surprised about the silence but when they saw the closed eyes and the regular breath, they knew their master had lost consciousness once again.

* * *

'_I want to wake up from this nightmare!'_

He spoke into the darkness. Everything got more and more unbelievable, nothing seemed real, everything was like a bad dream – the best nightmare someone could have!

'_Nightmare? Which one?'_

A sad and husked voice asked him.

'_Everything is like a bad fairytale. I have seen things which shouldn't exist! I was never so scared and I don't know what I should do. They touch me so easily and every time my body is burning or under electricity. I don't want to fear them but I can't help it. My body is reaction on its own. Damn it!'_

'_Why not telling them? I think they would understand you.'_

'_Never had anybody understood me. My family had never listened to me, why should they do it and besides, it's embarrassing.'_

'_Your pride is high but how should they understand you if they don't know what you need?'_

'_If you trust somebody, you will only fall down when they break it.'_

'_So you fear they could hurt you emotionally? Had your last lover broken your trust?'_

'_I-I never had a lover, the girls are all crazy and noisy, but my family had once.'_

'_How about Syusuke and… Seiichi? They like you, so why not try it? Get in touch with them before they make the first move. And if you're still scared, I can say they aren't the only ones who can look behind everybody's mind. When the time comes **you** can read our minds too, so how could we betray you? Your situation is completely different as the time back with your family. You need to understand it. Let them explain everything and then you can judge us.'_

_'I'll think about it and I hope you know that they are guys, do you? And who the hell are you?'_

'_Sanada Genichirou. Can I ask you a favor, Ryoma? Trust them, they really love you and adore you, especially Seiichi and Syusuke.'_

'_You saved me from Akito, too, right? Ehm… thank you and I'm sorry. '_

'_Huh?'_

'_I can feel it. You're hurt probably because of me. I don't want to be indebted, so tell me, what can I do?'_

'_No, it isn't your fault. If I were you, I would take the chance and be with the two people who love me. Seiichi… is someone special to me and I hope he gets special to you, too. He is stubborn and hates it to feel weak and alone.'_

'_Special? Was he once your lover?'_

'_No, but I love him dearly as one. I wouldn't tell something like that to anybody but something inside me tells me I should tell you. I'm too weak to speak and I haven't enough strength to move. Do me the favor and take care of them.'_

'…_.'_

_'...'_

'…_If…if I …maybe if I give you… my blood…'_

'_You should already know the consequents if you give me your blood. You will be stronger but you will be bonded at us entirely and when you break the connection we all will die because you're the last one. Think clearly about your decision and don't feel guilty. I would risk my life to protect you, we all would do.'_

**_~~ 15. December, Night ~~_**

Silence.

The bond broke and Ryoma woke up from the thoughtful dream. His eyes fluttered open, met the darkness in the room and the quiet mood. Not a single voice could be heard nor could he see any moving objects but the snoring noises from the room besides him made him sit up. The manbeasts were sleeping soundly, stressed and worn out from the action in the last three days. They needed more sleep than usually from lost of blood and power. The emerald-haired teen glanced next to him to the sleeping person - short black hair, the face peaceful and neutral, simple with one word - quite beautiful. Ryoma took one of the still hands; they were cold just like the face.

'_Sanada Genichirou, what have I thought when I offered you my blood? Why hadn't the thought disgusted me as much as I thought? It felt… right at the moment but earlier I was afraid. Since when do I change my decisions so often? Since when am I such a coward?'_

The young teen stood up, got carefully out of the bed and moved quietly, after making sure nothing was wavering like before, without thinking to the door where the snoring came from.

_'Alright, don't be a wimp!' _

He opened the door without any sounds, discovered a clean room with dimmed light and strange sounds. It didn't look like a place where monsters had fought with ...well, Ryoma didn't want to call Akito a human anymore. He took one step forward and as soon as the teen saw the furballs on the floor, his body froze, his heart sped up and cold sweat appeared on his forehead and temples. The manbeasts' style of sleeping looked like a dogs.

_'Get in touch with them before they make the first move, you said. Yeah, I want to try it. Ryoga had trusted them, too, he is an idiot sometimes but I believe he isn't too dumb to trust a person who wants to kill us.'_

He took one little step after another, his feet felt as heavy as a truck, his heart was racing against his chest – making it hard for him to hear anything else than his own heartbeat.

'_Calm down, Ryoma. You're never nervous. An Echizen doesn't lose.'_

A handful of steps more and he would reach a purple and a dark blue furball. Their chests moved up and down, their breaths were regularly, nevertheless Ryoma was sure they had already heard his footsteps or at least his loud, hammering and smashing heartbeat.

'_If anybody of you hear me... at least act as if you would be deep asleep.'_

The young teen swallowed hard, clenched his hands into fists and bit on his button lip; he forced his feet to move forward and stopped only as he was exactly in front of the two sleeping manbeasts.

'_Don't let is get you. They promised not to hurt you. I trust you, Sanada.'_

He repeated these words as a mantra, trying to give him braveness and enough will to make the first step. The teen sat slowly down with his trembling body next to the stomach of one of the manbeasts, his shaking left hand reached out for dark blue fur but stopped an inch before it got in contact. He took one more deep breath. His hand touched soft and fuzzy fur, a welcoming heat floated inside him from the light touch and a small smile formed itself on his face.

Ryoma was proud at himself and stroke the soft fur again and again, he even slid closer to the heat and rested carefully his head on the soft, warm and good smelling fur with his hands over the furry body. It lulled him into sleep, he didn't notice anymore the already lifted heads from every manbeast in the room. Seiichi waved with his five tails and laid them like a blanket over his love's body while Atobe moved closer to him, helping him to warm Ryoma up in the icy cold room. The heater was defect and the temperature had sunk drastically outside. Syusuke was on the other side of the bluenette while Kunimitsu lay next to his lover. From above, it looked like a big ball with different colors.

'_How cute.'_

'_Fshuu.'_

'_He really is something, really is!'_

'_I think, we made a step forward but how comes he was suddenly not so scared as before?'_

'_I believe, I know the answer.'_

'_Seiichi, you think Sanada had talked to Ryoma like today's morning?'_

'_They have a bond which we don't know.'_

A soft yawn escaped the blue-furred manbeast and he rested his head near Ryoma's feet. A satisfied moan rang in his ears and he giggled which sounded strange in his manbeast form but he was in a better mood now. Maybe they had a chance to make him their lover. Hopefully, his dear friend would see it, too.

'_We all should sleep and regenerate from the mess a few days ago, especially you Seiichi and Syusuke.'_

'_Wow, I never knew you are at first name basis with the two, Tezuka. Can I call you at your first name, too?'_

'_No, Momoshiro, you can't or you'll be running outside around the forest for the next two days and I mean it!'_

'_That is soo mean! It always has to do with you all are five-tailed ones. Really always.'_

Laugher escaped their mouth and filled the not-so-cold-anymore-room. The moon was hidden behind the clouds; the quietness was replaced from loud snoring and '_nya-ings'_. Nobody saw the twitching fingers from the room next to them and the tears which streamed down his eyes.

'_Thank you, Ryoma.'_

* * *

"So you are..?" Ryoga asked the teen with dark brown hair.

"Yanagi Renji. Nice to meet you." Yanagi sat in a visitor chair and leaned back, trying to keep his tired eyes open. The chair was uncomfortable and cold. The blanket over his body didn't work and the cold weather from outside made him shiver. It was so damn cold!

"You know, you can sleep in the bed next to me. I can't allow one of my little brother's friends to freeze to death. Also you look pretty tired. So why not try it?" Yanagi opened his eyes for a second but shut them again. He moved slowly his frozen bones and snuggled into the longing human heat.

"Thanks.." He mumbled and closed his eyes. Good sleep greeted him.

"Good night. I hope my brother is doing fine."

"Don't worry. Tomorrow is a new day and I have heard your brother had already woken up a few hours ago. The snow had finally stopped but our friends will be in the house for quite a while. I think we should use this chance and sleep too before we need to go to school again. I'm curious how he will look like after his change. How he will react at our bodies..."

"What do you mean with 'react at your bodies'? Hey Yanagi! What do you..." The room was filled with loudly snorings and Ryoga gave up with asking questions. His brother was save with the manbeasts - there was no doubt - but why did he have the feeling he needed to protect him from the two tensais? What did the changes mean? Would his dearly brother recognize him? Was he still the same after he had bonded with them? Doubt and fear of the changes overwhelmed him.


	11. Lost Lover And Future Lover

**A/N: I know that it took longer than usual but I started my education two weeks ago and I was too tired as to write something satisfying. Thanks for all the comforting reviews!**

**Pairing: _OT6_**

**Disclaimer: Do not own anything!**

* * *

**_~~ Lost Lover And Future Lover ~~_**

**_~~ 15. December, Nearly Midday ~~_**

'_So they need blood to survive? Everybody?' Ryoma asked innocently._

'_Only the five-tailed ones and so will you. Your blood will be the best cure for us. The younger ones, like me, will need your red liquid too if they get hurt too badly. Since Seiichi and Syusuke have given you their blood, there is a one-sided bond between us. The more you learn to trust us and love us, the stronger we are going to be but first you need to complete the pact.'_

'_What if I don't… Wait, I need to drink blood, too?'_

'_Yeah, and if you don't fulfil the pact then nothing will change. We'll stay in the position as we are right now - weak and more exhausted than ever. We can not live like this forever. Please, think clearly about it!'_

'_I know I can… but I feel scared…somehow…there is a piece missing in the puzzle. The pictures in my head, I had never seen them before but I have the feeling you were the boy with the cap, right? Why did I see them? How can that be?'_

'_You have a sharp mind. You had seen my memories with the person I love. I'm tired and you should wake up before they worry. If you're ready to connect your soul with ours, do me a favor and give it to me first, please. I don't want to run away. I want to see him one last time and confess to him.'_

'…_Alright.'_

* * *

It was warm and fluffy. A wet tongue licked his left temple and he groaned in disagree. Did Karupin need to wake him up now? He was still tired and didn't want to leave his comfortable bed. "Ten more minutes..." Ryoma mumbled and turned around, pulling the fuzzy blanket closer to him and sniffing the addiction scent. Since when was his bed so good and comfortable? Since when was breakfast ready and who made it? The tongue licked over his temple again and a little whimper, which sounded somehow amused, roared in his ears.

'_Ryoma, time to rise and shine or do you want to lay under my tails forever? Eiji and Bunta are already pouting that you can't eat their self-made food.'_

Ryoma thought about it for a moment. Food or sleep? The choice was easy; he was tired so he would sleep a bit more. He curled tighter together, clenching the covers closer. "It doesn't seem like he wants to get up. Such a brat!" Atobe huffed and shook the boy harshly on his shoulders. Ryoma slapped the hand away and snuggled even further into the soft '_bed_'.

"I have an idea, how we can wake him up." The person with the gentle voice made a step closer to him and the boy could only hope the people around him wouldn't pull his blanket away like Akito did. It was the worst thing you could do to make him angry.

'_Don't worry, Ryo. I'm not so mean, I may have a sadistic vein inside of me but I'm not so mean right now.'_

The voice in his head stopped and the emerald-haired teen waited for the bad surprise. He only wanted to sleep! His brain failed at working as something soft, gently rested on his lips and nibbled on his button lip, asking for entrance. Ryoma reacted without thinking, allowing the person's tongue to slip inside and explore his wet cavern. In his half-awaken state, the tongue challenged him for dominance but the boy never had a French kiss when he was conscious, he didn't know what to do.

'_I'm your first? How cute.'_

A chuckled hushed in his head and brought a shiver down his spine.

'_It's time to wake up, Ryo.'_

But the sleeping teen wasn't ready to wake up and held the '_blanket_' tightly. The person withdrew and left the poor, disorientated boy alone with his brain still not working. As chuckles and laugher reached his ear, he gave up. He didn't want to embarrass himself more. The teen yawned and stretched his body like a cat would do, opened his eyes slowly and focus on his surroundings. In front of him was dark blue and warm fur – perfect to snuggle his face in it. One thought, one move - he pressed his face against the fur with a little smile on his face, he loved the fur of cats.

"Hey, why are you the only one who he cuddles with? I wanna cuddle too! I wanna cuddle too!" Eiji jumped next to his new, little brother and slung his arms around the boy's body and pulled him into a crushing hug. At least Ryoma was now fully awake and aware that he was gasping for air as something pressed too hard at his throat and chest.

"Eiji!" They all screamed, rushed to their master's help and separated the two. "You should be more careful! He was already turning green and blue." Surprisingly it wasn't Oishi who said it but Momo. Ryoma stumbled back and fell down on something or someone. He was breathing deeply in and out while rubbing his hurting chest where the gun wound was placed, blinking and looking up to his '_hero'_. Someone with short, brown hair and glasses looked down at him with a very, very small smile.

"Thanks." The teen spoke in his raspy voice and stayed at the place where he was sitting, not noticing it was Tezuka's lap. He glanced around, viewed into different faces with different expressions like awaiting and curiosity. His eyes fell on the dark-furred manbeast with golden eyes. It stared at him and he stared back but not with fear. Most of the time, when he had slept, he had '_talked'_ with Sanada and got many details about his new position and also about the different personalities..

The good things: He would never be alone, get stronger, get an special ability after they have bonded.  
The bad things: He would need to bear two sadistic tensais who loved it to read other people's minds and tease them, an hyperactive and cuddle-obsessed redhead, a horde of embarrassing guys - like Sanada called it - and some jealous demon-like baby who wanted to have attention and be the best.

He wasn't sure where to put the thing with drinking blood and giving blood, so he left it slip his mind. Ryoma got the feeling he could trust them and Sanada had said it himself, he would risk his life to save his master. The teen didn't move from the comfortable spot, only when Fuji knelt down before him and held out a hand for him to take it, he got out of his staring-contest with the other pair of golden eyes.

"You should thank Seiichi, too. He was the one who held you warm over the night." Fuji waited, held his hand in place and smiled with his closed eyes. Ryoma hesitated for a minute but decided to take the offered hand as to avoid the embarrassing situation any further. He realized where he had sat down. The boy's hand touched the soft skinned hand and a funny feeling aroused his body. Would he always feel this way if he touched one of them? If the marks were on his body again? Better not take a look. Never look back, never give up. Fuji was beyond heaven. He guided his love to Seiichi, Kunimitsu had gotten a shade of pink in his face, Keigo chuckled like a queen while the bluenette was lying relaxed on the floor with his eyes never leaving his love.

The way his pure angel approached him, glanced at him and smelled like him, made him excited and when the teen stood an inch across him, knelt down and lifted his hand to touch his fur, he let it happen with a purr. The boy's touch was careful and smooth – like you would pet a cat. Seiichi let his tongue lick Ryoma's hand and wrist – telling him he liked it and he wanted more. Ryoma was surprised by the wetness over his own skin and the rough feeling of the tongue tickled his skin. The teen was relieved after he heard the happy purring of the manbeast. His hand began to stroke the fur behind the ears, closed his eyes and leaned his head against he creature's.

"I'm sorry for pushing you away earlier. I have decided to help you." He hushed the words in the blue-furred animal's ear and within another second the fur under his hand was replace with a human body. The dark, blue hair and the pure skin – Ryoma gazed at the person from head to toe, swallowing hard and feeling the heat in his cheeks rising up. The boy looked like some kind of prince. The young teen got into a tight embrace and a kiss was placed on his flushed, left cheek.

'_Thank you, my love.'_

**_~~ 15. December, Early Afternoon ~~_**

They gazed at Sanada from time to time, knowing their brother wouldn't wake up without help but making sure everything was still alright. After Ryoma had eaten the delicious food from Eiji and Bunta, he got dragged to the bathroom to take a hot bath. Momo, Bunta and Eiji giggled by the flushed face which Ryoma often made while the tensais smiled joyfully. Tezuka and Atobe left the room to let the boy undress himself and pushed Yukimura and Fuji with them. Ryoma undressed himself slowly, first the pyjama which the other people had dressed him in and next his shorts which left him only with a towel around his waist. His thought slid back and forth from the last happenings in his life. It felt unreal, like a dream or a fairytale where he was the princess and got more than one prince to love.

'_Great. Now I think like an annoying, squeaking girl who is madly in love with some shoujo manga prince.'_

The teen pouted after hearing the laughs and giggles from outside the door, where the five-tailed ones were waiting for him to call them. He wondered why.

'_I definitely need to learn how I can block them out of my head.'_

The emerald-haired teen went inside the second room where the shower was and slapped immediately his hand against his forehead when he saw, why his new friends had waited in front of the door. It was a traditional bathroom with three rooms – first the room to change out of the clothes, next where you cleaned your body and the last room was filled with a big bathtub which called to him '_jump inside me and relax'_. It was a traditional Japanese bathroom which means he was helpless as to not knowing how to use it right. Ryoma was Japanese but lived in Japan only at the age of 4. The rest of his life had he lived in America in Western-style houses.

He fought with the thought about skipping the bath but there would be too many questions to answer if he really did and he felt himself dirty after so many days of not showering and drowned in blood and dirt. The teen glanced around, thinking about another way without calling for help as his pride wouldn't allow it but even after he had looked closer to all the unfamiliar bottles and such, he gave up.

'_Alright. Come in and show me how to use it.'_

Only shortly after the thought, the door behind him opened and when he turned around, his eyes widen – there they stood, four handsome men with sexy, half-naked and good built bodies, even if some scars covered their fine skin, Ryoma could only take his eyes away when he heard the chuckles of everyone. "Saa, are we so attractive to you? My, what lucky ones we are."

The poor boy's face grew redder from the teasing. "Syu-Fuji, stop it. He has gone through enough for now." Tezuka took Ryoma's wrist and guided him to a place where he let the boy sat down. Atobe started to wash Ryoma's left arm with a sponge - careful with his new manicured nails - while Tezuka cleaned the right side with another sponge.

"Why so formal again, Mitsu? They already know that we're closer to each other than we show them." Seiichi soaped his sponge and cleaned their love's spine, Syusuke soaped and caressed the dark and now wet hair. The four took their time and secretly enjoyed the rare body-contact. It was amazing how pure and innocent the boy was - the skin was pale, the eyes were made of the color of shining and challenging gold and the full lips were in a light red. What excited and addicted them the most were the stifled moans as Atobe blow '_accidently'_ against Ryoma's neck – near the ear. The diva would never admit it but he got aroused by the sounds and the view, just like the other two. He wasn't sure if his Mitsu had feelings for their little one, too.

Ryoma couldn't hold his voice inside as a hand slipped guiltless over his right skin, a soft blow caressed his wet skin around his neck, the fingertips on his right arm and the touch all over his spine made his body strange. He hid his eyes behind his bangs and gazed down his own legs and feet. A thought hit him when nothing changed over his skin.

'_Where are the marks?'_

'_You won't see them for three or four days. You have drunk enough blood to mark yourself as ours. They will only appear again if you need our blood or if a new manbeast from another herd is heading to you.'_

The voice was angel-like while it had a hidden meaning but his thoughts were lost once again when soft lips lay on his neck and were licking his sensitive area. Hands were suddenly resting at his waist and shoulder. A loud moan escaped out of his mouth, made him embarrass more and let him forget his surroundings. Keigo and Kunimitsu looked at each other for a moment, not knowing if they should let the two tensais do what they want or if they should stop them. The diva didn't need long - wanted to join the threesome, nevertheless, he banned the desire far in his head, he had already a lover. But why only get one if you can get more? Ore-sama, like he called himself, deserved the best. After ten more minutes of torture for Ryoma, they finished the washing and were on their way into the bathtub but Ryoma stopped once and gazed into the mirror at his small form. Compared to them, he looked fragile and tiny. The boy pouted at the picture. He needed to grow.

"You really are the perfect uke..."

"FUJI!"

Seiichi couldn't hold back his laugher and laughed out loud. His tender voice echoed from the walls. Keigo smirked and snorted majesty-like. Kunimitsu cleared his throat after he had scrolled Fuji for this... proposition. Ryoma, clueless as ever, wanted to ask what a uke was but the one thing which got all his attention were the barely noticeable gun wound and the black, infected wound on his neck. He lifted his hand, touched it with his fingertips. And in the next second, a rushed movement made Keigo jolt out of his laugh. Fuji and Yukimura had jumped, swirled on their heels. Keigo glanced over to his lover who had an expression like a frowning stone. His gaze continued to wander, landed on their master. Ryoma was the one who was the strangest. The boy had his hands on a place at his neck, dug his nails in the wound and hissed through gritted teeth.

The wound at his neck where Akito had bitten him. The mark was red and black, looked kinda infected but didn't hurt. It was disgusting; the scab was all over the wound and signalled him the bruise was fresh but something was wrong with it. It didn't seem normal like any other scab. Ryoma touched the bruise, something glimmered in his mind – like a vision.

* * *

_Blood, everywhere was blood. On the floor, the walls and the windows and part of bodies were lying on the ground.  
He didn't know the faces or any of the dead people but the one with light brown hair and brown eyes was the centre of the vision.  
The person made a step forward to him or the person who had seen this._

_In another minute the person was dead, had killed himself with a sword.  
The blood spit out of the body, the dead boy fell to the ground with a dark sound and  
the faces around the seeing person were dark, shocked, panicked, sad, angry and all the negative emotions filled the bloody room.  
It was a carnage, a hell-like vision._

* * *

'_What? How?'_

His shocked and slightly rushed thoughts were enough to make two certain tensais panic.

'_Ryoma….'_

'_Who…W-What… When…'_

Ryoma's hands reminded at the wound, unable to move any part of his body. His eyes wide open, his body trembling and, like any other person would do, he wanted to scream but not a single sound moved out of his mouth. The four approached him again, trying to sooth him.

'_It's alright. It won't happen again. It was only in the past. You won't get harmed.'_

'_Shh… he can't touch you as long as you trust us with all your mind and heart.'_

"Seiichi, Syusuke, what had he seen?"

"Well…."

Ryoma's legs gave in from all the emotions but he never made any impact with the wet floor. His hands grabbed the first thing to hold himself up who was Atobe in this case. His eyes were unfocused, only when a surprising gentle voice called him over and over again, the boy woke slowly up from his shock. "Ryoma… you don't need to fear. We're all here to protect you from him. Nobody will ever get near you. I promise you that." The master's eyes gazed up and gazed at honey brown eyes. Tezuka's hand slipped under his knees and another behind his shoulders. Before the young teen knew what was going on, he got carried into the bathtub and was sat down in the middle of the tub. The warm water had already been filled inside by Seiichi.

The boy's body had stiffened at first but relaxed more when Fuji, Yukimura, Atobe and Tezuka whispered sweet promises to him and made him little by little forget the bloody and cruel pictures. The emerald-haired teen closed his eyes and listened to his loud heartbeat and the splashing sound from the moving water.

_Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump._

'_I wonder what the picture meant. They said it was from the past but it seemed so strange. The boy who got killed, who was that? It makes me tired to think about it.'_

An arm slid around his waist, pulled him carefully and with a surprising tenderness against a tall body. Ryoma didn't feel the need to look up, so he stayed in his position with his eyes closed.

"The boy who you saw was Syusuke's, Akito's and my former lover. Akito had been our master back then. On a nice day, Akito had trapped us. Our lover wanted to break up with us and run away with only Akito behind our backs. We had warned him about being an abandon manbeast and living with a shadow. We put pressure on his decision, tried to change his mind, and Akito did the same. At the end our lover couldn't stand it and killed himself. Akito had given us the fault for his death. It was the beginning of the fight between the shadows - the abandoned beast masters - and the manbeasts." Seiichi smiled lovely down at his small prince in his lap.

The bluenette petted the emerald-hair while Syusuke took Ryoma's hands and played softly with them."Akito... why is he so fast? He isn't human, right? He is just like me, isn't he? Then why aren't I as fast as him?"

"Has Sanada already explained to you what you need to do to fulfil the bond and about the ability?" Tezuka asked with a lifted brow. The prince nodded.

"Akito's special ability is the speed, even if you leave us and run away to be one of the shadows, you'll still have it but the connection between us will be gone. What you have once received will never disappeared again." Ryoma nodded again. The other two lovers were in the big bathtub, too – Keigo loved it to have big things, like a big bed, a big wardrobe, a big house and a big bathtub! The '_king'_ didn't show it but he was surprised when the trance-like teen didn't resist the close contact with the tensais. An evilly thought pushed forward and the purple-haired teen had the feeling of jealousy for a short moment.

'_Ore-sama can't, Ore-sama has Mitsu. Why is Ore-sama lingering for him? Ore-sama cans see the brat is attached to them.'_

"You know he doesn't know us for long. Give him a few days or weeks more and we'll see whom of us he wants." The challenging voice was the only sound, except the splashing from the water as Syusuke got out of the water, followed by Kunimitsu and Seiichi. Keigo walked behind them and a smile was on his face. The little prince had half-lidded eyes, his hair wet and clenching on his head, the body was pale with a shade of pink from the hot water. Ryoma was only half-awake as he put on some pair of clean shorts. The new pyjama was gratefully placed on his body by the leader and his lover. The clothes were far too big; nevertheless, it made him even more …cute.

"Ryoma, don't sleep yet." Just as Syusuke was helping Seiichi with another wave of worry for Sanada, Keigo took the chance and placed his secret crash in his arms to carry him to the bed room. The bathroom's door opened and they were greeted by many pairs of curious eyes and smirks. Each one had heard the moans from their master. Before anyone could say a word, a quiet and sleepy voice stopped them.

" 'M tired." The exhausted answer made them snicker, forcing Atobe to make his way to the bedroom. The still sleeping Genichirou hadn't woken up for now but at the morning, his hands had twitched. A good sign.

"Good night, brat." The diva stroke with his hand through Ryoma's hair, left the room and closed the door behind himself.

_'He needs more blood; his body is still weak and hasn't accepted our liquid yet.'_

**_~~ 15. December, Night ~~_**

It felt cold, and uncomfortable. Ryoma stiffened and turned from one side to another but couldn't find a better position. He wanted to talk with Sanada but he had no clue how to do it. After twenty minutes of spinning around, he had enough, sat up and glanced down to Sanada.

'_If he has such a nice fur like Yukimura has? I slept only one night near him and I'm already addic… Oh shit, they can hear!'_

He had forgotten the manbeast turned back into animal form when the night came and they could hear him like he could hear them - if they let him. The nights grew colder with every day. The snowstorm had finally ended. The reply which followed from his regretful thought made him blush.

'_You're cute. Shall _we_ come and help you to warm up?'_

'…_.'_

'_If you don't say anything then we'll come for sure.'_

Ryoma wanted to block the door but he stumble over his own two feet, fell to the floor and landed not as soft as planned on his butt. The door opened and in came four amazing big manbeasts. They moved elegantly and smoothly, making the distance to him smaller. The emerald-haired teen stood up, steadying himself at the bed and blinked, when he glance up, the manbeasts were standing right before him – pushing him onto the bed and hopping right next to him and around Sanada. The boy fell with his back onto the bed and with his head against fuzzy fur. Ryoma looked up, seeing through the darkness the golden glowing eyes. They were overwhelmed with emotions, another pair was unreadable and the last one was filled with …pride and self-confidence. He was so distracted of the eyes; the teen didn't note the change of posture.

He lay onto the bed, surrounded by four manbeasts and an unconscious Sanada. His head lay over good smelling fur, his legs tucked up and the hands resting next and over his waist. The funny and bristly tails formed a hot blanket which lulled him slowly into sleep. Ryoma couldn't suppress a smile and a very quite mumbled answer.

'_Thanks.'_

'_You're welcome, love.'_

* * *

"You're in very good condition. I'm truly surprised you lost against these disgusting monsters." Cole put out a cigarette, lighted it up and inhaled deeply.

"I was distracted and surprised that they were so close to my son in this short time. It won't happen again!" The man with short brown hair and now black clothes shot with the gun and reached the goal with 100%. The new blood in his veins was already noticeable*.

"Another week, more or less, and they will whine!" Cole left the room. The laugh echoed evilly in the training room. Chorne and Lloyd left secretly the hall, taking care of their own tactics. Akito on the other side was angry as hell, fought with all he had – shot, cut, hit and stabbed. The hate drove him insane, made him unfocused but stronger.

'_How could they have beaten me? I had sworn to myself, I would never let them hide again. If the brat agrees to them to connect as one - then we're in fucking deep shit! God damn it!'_

He went out of the room with his sweat-drowned body, escaped the scenario of blood, kill and dominance. Fuji and Yukimura would forfeit sooner or later and he would take care this wound wouldn't heal so quickly as the last one. Slowly and step after step, he would rip them apart!

'_Next time I'll make you scream from the unbearable pain! I couldn't take Ryoma first; they had already a one-sided bond but there is still a little chance. Thanks to the small bit on the boy's neck, I can send him some pretty pictures in his mind. I'm very curious how he will react from the massacre years ago.'_

Akito hadn't recognized he was walking through the night while thinking and all of a sudden he stood in front of the one place he didn't want to be. The red-haired man swallowed hard, took one deep breath and pushed the gate with a high pitching tone open. The air was heavy; all the sounds disappeared into nothings and with each step, Akito saw the old times of happiness and distraction. The graves all around him made him shake. He inhaled in his movements when he was right before the one certain grave, he would have guessed, he would never visit again. It was clean and ornate with different flowers. In 8 days it would be exactly 8 years ago, that his fourth lover had killed himself because of Yukimura, Fuji and him.

_Kawamura Takashi __  
We will never forget you.  
Rest in Peace, our friend._

_18.11.1983 – 24.12.2002_

"Hello, my love. I hope you can forgive me for doing that to you. I grew up and got older while the others are still the same from the outside. It sucks to know that you will die sometimes while your ex-lovers will stay in their youth. But I hope, I can see you again when I come to you. Wait for me."

* * *

***What Nanjiroh meant with the new blood:**  
To make a master to a shadow, he needs to drink the blood of the same sort. Like the beast master needs to exchange his blood with the manbeasts, so needs the shadows do the same with the ex-master.

**_As to why Akito can send memories/pictures to Ryoma:_****  
**Both are/were masters of the manbeasts. Akito has still some drops of blood from the other manbeasts inside of him and now that Ryoma has it too, they have a very weak connection.  
Akito first idea was it to make Ryoma one of the shadows - like the manbeast, Ryoma needs to drink Akito's blood and Akito needs to drink Ryoma's. Just so you know.

**Tell me the truth, had anybody of you ever thought that Kawamura were the lost lover?**


	12. Bonded

**A/N: THANK YOU! I love your reviews!**

**Pairing: OT6**

**Disclaimer: Do not own anything.**

**WARNING: Lemon in this chapter!  
**

* * *

**_~~ Bonded ~~_**

**_~~ 16. December, Dawn ~~_**

_The prince moaned, arched his back and scratched through the pale skin with his nails. The first man licked his right, pink nipple, the second played with the left one and caressed his belly button, the third one kissed the boy passionately and took every needing air from him. The teen whimpered and groaned louder, the air was filled with the scent of sex and sweating bodies but it made the group of six only more aroused._

_The fourth teen of the group sucked at his hard member, the prince didn't know that these heavenly-feelings even existed; it felt strange and good – amazingly pleasurable. His voice cracked up slowly from all the moans and high screams of the lustful feelings. The fifth one licked him along his spine and butterfly kisses flew over it. A piercing pain let all the good sensations fall, something tried to loosen his hole in his under region. He heard them speaking, saying it was okay and he needed to relax but the pain got even worse as the finger was taken out, only to be pushed inside of him again with another one._

"_I love you."_

_The pain began to fade away and the pleasure came back with an intense speed. His body was on fire, felt funny and strange at the same time. He never had experienced something like this. The boy didn't want them to stop anymore; it felt too good as to stop now._

"_Relax…"_

"_Breath deeply in and out, slowly…"_

"_No need to be nervous…"_

_The boy didn't know what they meant but he did as he was told and soon the two fingers were pulled out only to be replaced with something hotter, wetter and larger. They touched him everywhere, tried to distract him from the incoming pain while the intruder was pushed slowly inside of him. He screamed and dug his nails deeper in the flesh of the teen's back who was in front of him. The boy didn't know if he screamed from the pain or from the amazing lust inside of him._

"_We love you."_

_A sudden pain rushed over his neck, teeth inside his flesh were drinking his blood in deep gulps._

* * *

Ryoma's eyes snapped open, he panted hard and his heart was racing on its own. It took him a while before he realized that it was all a dream, a bad and pleasurable dream because the most shocking thing was the lower part of his body which had slightly gotten hard. Since when had he such dreams? His face turned crimson red, his member pressed painfully against the pyjama pants and his body was begging for relief.

'_Oh, no. God damn it! Shit! Fuck!'_

He cursed, stood up - had somehow finished to get out of the twirl of four half-naked bodies around him while Sanada was still sleeping on his back. He tiptoed to the bathroom and reminded himself not to think about his '_little'_ problem in his pants as to prevent that two special males would read his thought. When he opened the door he was greeted by a sight he would have loved to avoid. The living room turned out to be the perfect place for a big horde of half-naked teens. A heat wave hit him when he had opened the door. Ryoma felt like in a sauna. Hot, sweaty and wet...

'_No, calm down, don't think! Never think about that again! Just go straight to the bathroom, right the bathroom! Don't think!'_

He sped into the bathroom, locked the door and tried to think but not to think too hard.

* * *

In the meantime in the bedroom.

"...su... Mitsu wake up!" Kunimitsu heard Syusuke calling him and noticed that someone was shaking him softly on his shoulder.

'_Shit and after I had such a nice dream.'_

"I never knew Mitsu can have such naughty dreams, too." Seiichi's violet eyes were glowing in amusement and excitement. He had seen and heard everything. So their friend had a crush on their love, too. Oh, how Keigo would react if he knew his lover had a wet dream because of not one but five certain people? He would have never guessed their leader was such a pervert!

"Good to hear that you liked it! I hope you don't want us to be in the same position as you had dreamed because his virginity is mine!" The voice was sharp and had a hidden, killing meaning behind the last sentence.

The stoic captain's eyes shot open, his body stiffened and his hands reminded where ever they were. He remembered yesterday's night. They had gone to Ryoma to help him sleep and afterwards they had returned into human form to give them more space to sleep. The younger manbeasts hadn't slept as their bodies had already fully recovered but the five-tailed ones still needed more rest. The leader took a deep breath, feeling something heavy on his chest, he wanted to take a look but another voice made him stop. "Don't move or you'll wake him up." Tezuka glanced down and saw only a bunch of purple. It took him a few minutes to recognize who was lying over his chest – Keigo.

He fought against the heat in his cheeks but failed at doing so and a bright blush covered his face. Who knew the '_king'_ loved it to cuddle?

"What a nice color your cheeks have, Mitsu." Seiichi chuckle and giggled, he loved it to embarrass other people with Syusuke – especially their leader, their diva and their stoic fighter. The bluenette viewed down to the diva. Keigo's head was resting trustfully over Mitsu's chest with his hands grabbing tightly the border of the white shirt while his legs were tucked up and twisted with his lover's. Why weren't Syusuke and Seiichi in one of these positions with their love?  
And where was their little one?

Syusuke noted the change of views from his ex-lover - and nearly lover once more - and understood whom he was searching for but neither of them could find their little one. The diva snuggled his face in the relaxing scent, the hand slipping - without knowing it – under the shirt and rested there over the bare skin of Kunimistu. The stoic leader let a small smile fill his face but it faded away soon when a sadistic and nervous aura from two certain tensais were directed at him.

"Mitsu, Kei… Stop it! What if Ryo sees it? You'll scare him to death." The warning was crystal clear. He took his hand off from his boyfriend's waist, which accidentally had rested there, and tried to move away from the teen without waking him up but Keigo reacted other than planned. He moaned in discomfort and pressed his body with full force against the leader's.

Syusuke's sapphire blue eyes snapped open by the intimate contact. How he wished he could do it too! It was true he had still a little crush on Tezuka and even on the diva but he didn't knew how Atobe would react if Yukimura and he would ask them for a foursome or better now that he knew their leader had a crush on their little one and Sanada, too – it would be better as an OT6. The diva would, without doubt, hyperventilate and faint while the stoic young man would be frozen like a stone. The brown-haired teen chuckled at this imagination.

'_Ryoma what are you doing with us? Making everybody fall for you!'_

Seiichi saw the look from his best friend and heard the desiring thought. He knew exactly what the other prodigy felt, even if the two tensais were once lovers, they had judged to be only best friends from now on but old habits die hard. The bluenette had still feelings for the brunette and after his friend had nearly died and was still lying unconscious in the bed right next to him – he had realized he felt more than just brotherly love for Sanada. About Kunimitsu and Keigo, well, they had lived far too long with each other as to not fall in love with one another. Nearly 100 years*. Why not try it?

"Keigo, wake up. We need to look after Ryoma!" Seiichi shook the diva harshly on the waist and pulled the blanket away to look if their love perhaps had hid under there – nothing. Kunimitsu pushed the head of his lover away and moved out of the bed with only his short and tight underwear on and a white t-shirt over his chest. Yesterday night, it was way too hot under the blanket and he dressed himself off in the middle of the night. One manbeast had an amazing heat but when five manbeasts were lying under one blanket - it was way far too much heat. It wondered him that their master hadn't complained about it. He grabbed his glasses and put it on his nose while putting on his pants.

'_Since when has Mitsu become so sexy?'_

'_Dunno.'_

'_Ah…' _

The two blinked twice and stared at each other with dumbfounded faces. It wasn't one of their voices but whose was it then? Theduo hadn't ever heard such an attractive voice while moaning. They glanced over to the slowly awakening king – he rubbed tiredly his eyes and put on his shirt – and then to the stoic young man – he sighed and rubbed his hurting temples. No, these two couldn't moan like that.

'_Ah…ah'_

It clicked in their heads and the two smirked. "It can't be…!" The brown-haired teen breathed in disbelief and rushed out with the bluenette in common in only his sexy and tight underwear - just like Mitsu, they had stripped out of their clothes because of the unbearable heat. The other couple was curious as well and did was they need to do – they followed. The sight which greeted them made them regret their choice. Their folk was mostly naked. had Ryoma seen it? Where was their little prince?

_'mhm...'_

They stood in front of the bathroom's door.

"Ryo, open up. You know we can hear you, even with your voice turned down." They other manbeasts didn't let anybody interrupt them and continued to sleep and snore in their underwear. Seiichi knocked with his fist against the door but it was still locked.

"C'mon, if you don't want to speak, you can think about it and only the two of us will know it. The others aren't in their other form." It was silent for a moment and the two tensais got inpatient while the still clueless couple stood behind them.

'_I..I never had such problems... Why now? '_

Syusuke and Seiichi were confused at first but get the hint of their future-lover's statement and smiled knowingly about what had caused their cute master to stutter so much. The two heard the shyness and embarrassment in the voice, still didn't say anything. Ryoma would only shut his self.

Seiichi shrugged with his shoulders when his lover looked at him with the Do-you-have-any-idea-what-we-can-do-now-look but before Syusuke could reply, a seductive picture of six people having fun in a king-size bed popped out of nowhere and a loud unsatisfied whimper roared in the tensais's ears. The two grinned and smirked at the thought. So their Ryo had seen the naughty dream and couldn't forget it. There was no reason for how he had seen it but they would take care of it later, first all what mattered was their master's need who had a problem with the lower part of his body. How sad that Keigo hadn't seen this beautiful dream.

* * *

'_I want to kiss you, to touch you and to ravish you until you scream in ecstasy and can't hold back. Do you need anymore more help with relieving you?'_

Ryoma could hear the sadistic smile even through his head. He had the worse thing happen to him and the two read easily his mind. God, he never wanted to crawl into a hole so much like now. Shit! As the word of Fuji sank into his brain, he groaned and his arousal got even harder. He wouldn't give in. Not here, never! He bit on his bottom lip, suppressed any sounds. Taking calming breaths, thinking about anything else than the dream.

'_No. I'm fine…Y-You can go back to sleep.'_

_'Saa, open the door. I need to use the toilet.'_

_'Use it later.'_

'_Ryoma, is your body sensitive? I'm curious as to what would happen if I...'_

The boy tried to shut them out of his head, screamed at himself and shook his head violently. He didn't want to hear them; their voices would only make it worse! Ryoma was so busy with his lower part, he didn't hear the clicking sound from the door, the laughing voice nor did he see the confused faces of Keigo and Kunimitsu. No, he was too busy with thinking about nothing and trying to calm his manly part down. Another memory of the dream flashed inside his head – he was gasping for air from the pleasure and lust. The teen cried out in pleasure, releasing himself. He panted hard, satisfied.

* * *

With another click was the door open and in the room stepped a little group of four, they saw a sitting and very satisfied Ryoma - bottomless with a beet red face and his eyes hidden behind his bangs. The sight was too adorable to ignore! Fuji closed the door gently, after he had unlocked them - thanks to his little sadistic vein, he knew how to break inside closed rooms - and stepped to the boy, followed by three other people.

_'How sad. We came too late.' _

Ryoma pushed his knees together, hiding his bare flesh. How embarrassing! How humiliating!

"You're pretty experienced for a virgin." The diva announced, after understanding the situation a tad, and smirked. Ryoma blushed furiously, glared at him, stood up and pulled the shirt further down to keep his bare skin hidden. God, he wanted to hide in a black hole.

_'Thanks to the old man and Ryoga... forcing me to watch a stupid teeny movie.'_

The teen's eyes glanced on the quiet leader. Kunimitsu's eyes glowed, pierced at Ryoma and the older male walked closer to him. Their eyes locked with each other by the second glance, Ryoma's heart was about to burst. His hands tensed at the hem of his shirt, nervousness and confused mixed in his system. His heart beat faster just by letting the other male gazing at him. The distance between them shrank. The younger one lost his breath, their lips met and hands pulled him closer against a broad chest. He was trapped between the cold wall and the warm chest of Kunimitsu. His head got fizzy, his already shaking legs grew to jelly. One kiss and he felt butterflies in his stomach. Teeth nibbled on his lips and a hand rested on one of his cheeks, guided his head in the right direction. The butterflies drove him crazy, the tickling sensation on his skin made him want to have more. What was that feeling?

_'Trust them... they'll treasure and love you... you won't regret it...'_

Why did he hear it now? Why was Genichirou's voice right now in his head? He didn't want to think, just enjoy.

"Do you trust me?" The question was sudden, inaudible for his red, numb ears.

"What?" He hushed, enjoyed the kisses and harsh nibs on his throat.

"Do you trust us?" The kisses and caressed stopped, though, the distance was still the same.

"Yeah." Ryoma replied what his instinct told him. His brain was foggy.

"Are you scared of the future?" Another question. Why did Tezuka need to ask questions now? He wanted to feel and enjoy the unknown but good feeling.

"Yeah." Another wheezed answer. His eyes snapped open. Kunimitsu kissed him hard, passionate and held his head strongly in his hands. A vision entered his head, grabbed him out of the passion and lust.

* * *

_A ruin, old and dirty. He sat on a stone comfortable and with one leg angled, his left arm rested on it. Golden eyes, his own golden eyes, shone brightly in the night and pierced through the night. His dark hair wavered in the wind and strands of it flew across his face._

_The manbeasts around him were sleeping on the floor, exhausted and calm. Stone walls surrounded them with unknown signs engraved in it. _

_Five manbeast slept close to him. Two lay under his feet and around the stone, the third had his head on his knee, the fourth and fifth stood on their last two paws and stared at the newcomer with golden eyes._

* * *

"What?" Ryoma was confused, dehydrated. He would have stumble against the wall or slipped on the even ground but the leader held him possessively in his arms and waited for him to stand up properly. The teen's eyes hurt, he blinked a couple of times.

"Mistu... what did you show him? Have you used your ability?" Keigo walked to them, helped his wavering boyfriend to lean on him. The older brunette wiped his forehead with his backhand. It had cost him much effort to show their master the future. It always did.

"Mhm..." Ryoma slid out of his arms, looked him in the eyes.

"You idiot, you know it will exhaust you whenever you used it." The diva forced one of Kunimitsu's arms around his shoulders, steadied him and walked out of the room, left the three alone.

"Ability?" The youngest one asked with curiosity, still holding the shirt down and hiding his front region. The two tensai turned to him with smiles.

"Mitsu can show the future of the person he kisses. Sadly, he can't see what he shows. What have you seen?" Syusuke stepped to him, kissed his forehead and smelled his hair. A wet cloth touched his thigh and the teen made a step aside.

"Don't worry. I wanted to clean you." Seiichi also smiled at him, kissed his cheek and stroke his neck. The touch was welcome and comfortable. He began to like their touch and affection. How long had it been since someone cherished him? The wet cloth washed along his thigh and he grabbed the hand. This kind of touch was not so good.

"I-I'll do that myself."

"Okay. Call us if you need a hand." The brunette chuckled by the choice of words. The bluenette massaged his neck one more time, before he left the bathroom and closed the door. The master was alone, cleaned his front and the mess he had made. He felt ashamed by it but now was not the time to think about that. He had seen everything. The short flash in his head... if it truly was his future... his future with them... He wanted to feel it... He was alive, strong and he could control them.

'_Sanada…it's time for you to wake up.'_

**_~~ 16. December, Morning ~~_**

"I want to go to Chibisuke! He needs me! I'm fine with him being with your kind but I'll never forgive you if you take his innocents in the age of fifteen. My Chibisuke is still naïve and I would like to have him like this when I get back! The only thing he should love is tennis!" Ryoga yelped with all the air in his lungs around the hospital. Yanagi tried to calm him but it was in vain.

The brown-haired teen with his closed eyes couldn't believe the brother of his master had such a hard brother complex. It was much worse than with Fuji Syusuke! The older Echizen threw the nearest thing – which was a very heavy book – at the door and scared the nurses out of his room. Why couldn't they understand it? His little brother was with a dangerous herd of manbeast who wanted to take his virginity! His little Chibisuke!

Yanagi sighed loudly from the exhaustion. It was already a hard day and the day had only begun for a few hours! The emerald-haired teen was nice the last night but now, it was like the drug had worn of and his real personality had shown up. God, hopefully his master won't be like this. "Will you stop being so annoying if I take you to your brother?"

* * *

Ryoma found the other manbeasts in the bedroom on the bed, fully clothed. Their eyes were on him immediately when he entered the room and closed the door. A pair of pants was thrown to him and he gladly dressed up. He finished soon, waited and watched them with intense and took a deep breath. His view landed on the sleeping Sanada and a smile chased his lips. The teen glanced up once more. "I'm ready."

They seemed to be confused by his statement, angling their heads in an not understandable way. "I... I want be your master." He was greeted with silence. Uncomfortable silence. Had he said it wrong? Or maybe they understood him wrong?

"Ryoma…come here." Keigo whispered with his deep voice, pointed to him to come closer. The teen did as he was told and received a kiss on the lips by the called person. Someone of them pulled him on the bed. He let it happen, trusted them with his heart, believed in the vision. It felt right. It felt like he had made the right choice.

He knelt on the bed, the kiss never broke, and Syusuke unbuttoned his shirt slowly. Button after button loosened out of the hole and the cloth slid along his arms and was tossed at the other side of the room. The Seiichi person kissed, bit and sucked on the tender skin on his neck. A cold blow sent a shiver down his spine. He could feel every breath from them on his heated skin. The Keigo released his lips for a second, gave him time to breathe, only sucked on his chest, right were the heart stayed and left a bright hickey. Kunimitsu stayed in between his boyfriend and kissed his best friend, Syusuke, deeply. it was the only chance he would have to have an excuse why he had kissed him. Keigo left his harsh heaving chest and hushed the words in his left ear.

"Are you sure, you want to complete the bond? Once the decision is made, you can not back out." The emerald-haired teen wanted to say '_yes'_ but his lips were in use right at the moment by Syusuke. He just send a little message to the two tensais through their head-connection.

'_Give my blood to Genichirou first. I have promised it to him.'_

'_Saa, alright.'_

'_Thanks… Ryoma.'_

The tensais turned to the leader and the diva, telling them what they were planning which took them a few minutes. Kunimitsu was the first one who approached the panting boy again, pushed him into a lying position and hovered over him. The leader kissed him softly on his swollen, red lips.

"Relax… it will hurt a bit but the pain will fade away soon." Ryoma looked up in their faces from his half-lidded eyes. What was going to happen now? He murmured something which was quite inaudible and got a lick over his sore skin above his heart. The diva seemed to have a new hobby in giving all the attention to his chest. The two brunettes knelt on the bed, leaving a ajar of space. Seiichi gave him tempting butterfly kisses on his neck. it felt good, heavenly...

...without a warning, a harsh and burning pain entered his neck. He yelped in surprised, tensed up and fisted his hands in the sheets. It felt horrible, nevertheless, Ryoma didn't want to stop. He had chosen this and he wanted to prove them that he would be a good master, that he could handle them. Firm hands pushed him down. They didn't push him directly, they left him enough room to move - but just a bit and not to much. They prevented the chance for him to back out. No, he wouldn't need them. He wouldn't do that. He bit his lips, toned down every possible noise he could make. Hard breaths were the only sound.

_'I trust them. I want to be with them. I'm strong, I never back off.'_

He couldn't deny his attraction to them, he saw and felt the future. He would be happy, stronger and he would have a family with five lovers. maybe he needed to see it from another side. It was still confusing and terrifying to see how they could kill, but he would manage to accept them. He knew it.

The blood streamed down his neck, down his bare chest and onto the sheets, the sounds of someone drinking his blood made him excited and scared at the same time. The leader was right, the pain began to disappear and the night sky kissed him. All he saw were stars on a black sky. His golden eyes started to glow through the dark room, his skin began to burn as if sunlight would shine on it, and his insides began to heat up, to change. The firm grip around his waist, shoulders and legs got a tad stronger. What was happening to him?

* * *

Seiichi drank a few sips from his new master's blood, the taste on his tongue was breathless and he needed all his self-control to not swallow it. He pulled his fangs carefully out of his love's now bloody neck and bowed down over Genichirou, opened the mouth of his, hopefully, new lover and let the blood stream down his throat. After some seconds, the sleeping young man swallowed and licked his lips - a reaction after such a long time.

The king and the leader smiled softly to the now very happy tensai and forgot for a moment about the still bleeding master and the other brown-haired prodigy. Syusuke, as smart as he was, made a short decision and pushed gently his fangs in his lover's neck, taking little sips from the delicious red liquid. First he wanted to stop and pull his fangs out of the flesh but the sweetness and the fresh scent of young, pure blood made him insane and he drunk more and more.  
He couldn't stop, he didn't want to stop!

* * *

Ryoma felt his strength flow away. Was it part of the plan? His eyes-lids got heavy, his arms hadn't any strength and his legs felt as heavy as a big stone.

'_I feel weak. I can't move… Stop, tell me what is going on?'_

* * *

Syusuke drank more and more, pressed his body harder together with Ryoma's. He had no more control. The beast had taken the overhand and his golden eyes glowed fearfully in the darkness with his lightly brown hair clenching around his face and hiding the wildness and the desire in his eyes.

"Syu, stop! You'll kill him! STOP!" The hectic, angry and terrified voices yelled at him, pulled him away from the limp body in his arms and separated them from each other. Ryoma lay in the arms of Keigo while Kunimitsu viewed down the boy's body for any sign of more damage. He grabbed under the bed and searched for disinfection and a bandage. He nursed the wound on the neck and gave his little one blood. Yukimura threw his lover away; who landed with a loud noise against the wall and slid down to the floor in his unconscious form. Nice and pleading words would never reach the beast, so there was only one way to get rid of it - you got them unconscious or hurt badly.

"Is he alright?" The bluenette hurried over to his master, glance over the limp body and sighed in gladness as he couldn't see any harm.

"He drifted to sleep; we need to be more careful from now on. Don't let your guard down!" Kunimitsu was glad his friend had reacted so fast. The brown-haired leader covered the sleeping teen with a blanket and carried him bridal-style. The bed was full and blood and dirt, how could he let the poor boy sleep in there?

"Why had Syu reacted this way? Usually, he can control himself if he drinks blood of one of our masters. Why not this time?" Keigo ripped the sheets off the bed and carried Syusuke to it to make it a bit more comfortable for the teen, then followed the other two out of the room.

"Ryoma's blood has a special taste. I would have drunk it too if I would have had it one more second in my mouth. It's like a drug. Pure, unused, sweet and fresh." As soon as they walked into the other room, they were welcomed by the other grinning, smiling, smirking and giggling people. There was no doubt anybody hadn't noticed their actions. The pact was complete, their lives were saved and the virginity of the boy as good as taken.

* * *

Sanada woke up, his eyes opened, his lungs taking deep breathes and his brain focusing on the last actions.

'_Ryoma, thank you… Seiichi, I'm back. Are you happy?'_

* * *

***The manbeasts are much older than they look in human form. The exact age of them will be explained in the next few chapters.**


	13. New Ability

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait but I was writing on my other story 'OSAOC'. Hope you like this chapter as well and thank you for the comments.**

**Pairing: OT6**

**Disclaimer: Do not own anything.**

* * *

**_~~ New Ability ~~_**

**_~~ 17. December, Dawn ~~_**

Fuji woke up with a headache. He sat up on the bed with blood on the sheets. His body was sticky, his eyes and head were aching while he still tried to remember. His lightly brown locks fell over his face, his hand slid to his lips. The sweet taste was still there. The door to the bedroom opened and a smiling Sanada went inside. "Sanada? Welcome back! Do you know what had happened?" The black-haired teen nodded and got closer to the sitting teen in the bed. Touching the teens cheek with his left hand.

"Thanks and good morning, Fuji."

"Call me Syu. Since we're lovers from now on." The smile was dangerous and forceful, like saying: _'Say no and you will regret it!'_ Sanada got the hint and barely sweat dropped. He had no idea how Fuji had known about him being now his and Seiichi's lover but, well, that was the tensai and his creepiness.

"… okay, S-Syu... to answer your question, you had nearly killed our last master and had lost control. I heard from Seiichi how delicious his blood had been. Is it true?" Raw horror cross Syusuke's face and his eyes shot open. The door reopened and a bluenette laughed happily, leaning against the door frame – now he could watch his sleeping love on the new created sofa and his lover from the other bed.

"It had hardly ever happened to you. To lose every control, I mean. Even before Ryoma entered our lives you had better control."

"I had no idea that it was… It was like… everything had turned black and only the sweet and fresh taste was in my mind. Is he fine? Did… did I bring him pain? Where is he? I want to apologize!"

"Don't worry. He's sleeping against Keigo and Mitsu and as I can see it…" Seiichi looked at his small master. "…he finds himself in a very good position." Genichirou walked over to Seiichi, stopping at the door frame. The bluenette leaned forward, kissed the ear of the right side. A blush creeped over his nose, unstoppable. "Fu-Syu, you don't need to worry, we have already made a plan as to only drink from him if two of us are around." He stuttered, correcting himself after the brunette shot him a warning glare. The glare got replaced by a confused frown.

"We? Gen... since when.. does it mean you….?" Syusuke's gaze switched from one manbeast to another.

"We found out that he needs Ryoma's blood as well because if he doesn't get enough, his strength will fade away, just like it will happen to us. The power which Ryoma had given him will be gone again if he doesn't drink right in time and the needing amount." The room fell silent for a few minutes before the happy bluenette broke it once more. "You can go to him. We need to wake him up anyway, you can help me to chase him out of Akito's grip."

Seiichi took the hands of his lovers' - Syusuke and Genichirou - and walked out of the room with their hands still intertwined. The black-haired teen, this time without his cap, had confessed the tensai his feelings the early dawn and to make it even better, Seiichi had kissed him deeply and agreed to go out with him. It was just a little surprising that Seiichi was the one who had suggested being a foursome with Ryoma - since Genichirou found him cute and interesting too. The more the merrier and the teen was indeed very attractive.

_'Thanks, Ryoma. Thanks for giving me courage.'_

The last words from the bluenette sank into his brain and a wave of shock and fear rose up in him. In the last few days he had gotten very attached to the beautiful boy. Never would he allow anyone to bring pain to the innocent teen.

"Akito's grip? What does he do? Since when do they have a connection?"

"We don't know about since when and we'll need to ask Ryoma himself for it but first we need to break the connection once and for all before it gets too strong. He sends his memories to Ryoma which could get risky for us if our little one misunderstands it. I'm curious how he will look like from now on, aren't you too?"

"Right." Both tensais chuckled and rushed to their little love who was overwhelmed from his friends and family. The boy was soundly asleep, his breath was deep, steady and uncontrolled at the same time and his hands were fisting with Tezuka's fur in them. The leader and his - for now - lover were the only one in their manbeast form.

The frown on Ryoma's forehead, the dark green bangs which lay over his eyes didn't take the angel-like look of his sleeping face. Nonetheless, it was obvious - something was tracking him in his dream. The others cleared the way when the three newcomers arrived. The three knelt down, stroke the manbeasts' fur and petted the teen's hair. The brunette smiled, touched Ryoma's hand. "Seiichi, help me to break the one-sided bond."

"How do you know it is one-sided?" Kirihara asked from a corner of the room. The childish males - Eiji and Marui - poked at the sleeping boy, Inui and Yanagi scribbled all the new data in their books while the rest giggled, observed their master, had fun and enjoyed the feeling of being near their new family member.

"Think about it Akaya. How could we still live if he had completed the bond with a shadow?" Yanagi asked, glanced up from the book of his friend. An understanding sound roared out of Kirihara Akaya's throat. Genichirou helped Seiichi to get enough space, beside him was the diva who snuggled his nose along Ryoma's cheek and gave it a lick. The victim of the lick moaned, turned to the other side to escape another wet attack. Not very happy about the result, the huff'ed and throw his head back. His long purple fur covered most of the young teen's body who grabbed it and began to stroke it gently. The motion repeated. Ryoma touched the fur like he had always done it by Karupin every night when the feline would come to him to get his cuddle-time. The head of Keigo snapped back up, gazing at the sleeping person.

"I take it our diva can't hold back his animalistic instinct anymore? Glad you two join us." The diva reacted pretty furious and snapped after Syusuke's hand. It wasn't as painful as when a human would get bitten, nevertheless, it still hurt. "Ouch, you will pay for that, Kei!" Keigo's head went down again and rested on his paws.

"Will it hurt him? If you break the bond will he feel any pain or something like this?"

"No, don't worry, Gen. I have a feeling he feels already something others and very interesting. Back then, when you lost your consciousness, it was you who created a bond between the two of you, am I right?" Blue orbs glanced in dark brown eyes. The tense atmosphere stayed for a few minutes, before the tensai viewed with his super sweet smile and his closed eyes to his family.

There were two choices they had:  
- first: to ignore the creepy smile, stay and risk to get traumatized  
- second: to leave and escape the torture which would follow soon  
The manbeasts in the room decided for the better choice and left immediately.

"Talk." Now it was Seiichi who spoke in an icy tone. He had listened to the conversation long enough to understand his new lover was hiding something from them. To hide something was against the rules in the herd.

"Yeah, it was me. It is a hidden ability of mine which I have just gotten. You can say it operates like searching for an innocent soul and making a little bond where only I can chose between open and close the connection. The person needs to be asleep just like me, either way I can't do it. Don't worry it doesn't work with a manbeast's soul. Ryoma's soul is like a child's but also like an adult's." The black-haired teen's view got softer after he looked down to the angel. The boy surprised him, had changed his mind and he wanted to thank him for the courage. God, was he blushing? Why were his cheeks so warm?

"What had you told him? Other things which doesn't include the explanations about us. Tell the truth." Sanada's glance went from one tensai to the other, stilled by the two creatures.

"You talked about us? Why?" The other prodigy asked.

"It was Ryoma who told me I should confess to you." The two smiled and nodded, put their foreheads against the emerald-haired teen's and focused at their young master's thought. They found the needing mind.

**_~~ 17. December, Early Morning ~~_**

A sweet dream held him tightly in La-La-Land. He was playing tennis while Karupin meowed beside him. The waterfall to his right side and the court, where he was standing on, were beautiful. Suddenly the racket disappeared out of his hand, Karupin faded away, the court vanished and was replaced with a cemetery. The moon was hidden behind the clouds, the black birds yelled at him, tried to pick at him. A man with long, red hair reached out for him, his face was hidden behind a mask. Ryoma grabbed the hand, held it strongly and relied on it to pull him up. Suddenly the man's hand pushed him into one of the empty graves. Dead, bloody claws scratched his flesh, skeletal heads and hands grabbed him and pulled him deeper into the grave. A silent scream escaped his mouth.

'_You need to let it happen. Trust us, we'll hold you!'_

'_Stop the pact with him!'_

'_Ryoma…'_

The emerald-haired teen recognized the voices but still feared the impact and tensed his muscles. The more he tensed up, the more he felt his body changing. It was cold, he got goosebumps from the chill and his voice had disappeared. He couldn't yell for help. The cold left him, the heat surrounded him with a crash. it hit him immense and sweat gathered on his skin. He wanted to take off all his clothes, they were drowned in his sweat. He felt sticky and dirty. The background changed from hell to dark and musty soil. It was putting pressure on his lungs. He would choke in the ground. the air was so little and faded away with every breath. Gentle fingers caressed his neck and chest, a mouth nibbled on his sensitive ear and lips kissed his own. It was calming for a blink of an eye.

'_Cut it, cut the tie and we can save you.'_

_'Relax, let yourself fall down. Trust only us.'_

Ryoma tensed, waited for any more instructions. How should he relax while being buried alive under the ground?

_'Relax, be calm. Fight against your fear.'_

Fight? Yeah, fight. Ryoma was the best in fighting and being stubborn. He inhaled once more before letting his muscles in his body go limp. As sudden as the graveyard and darkness had come, he was pushed aside and another field appeared - dark but safe, untouchable but there. He could still feel the tender touch on his skin, the warmth. Someone knew entered their connection or so he thought. He could feel another hand. The petted and played with his hair. Comfortable silence companied him and light switched on. Little dots of colorful lights swirled in front of his olden orbs.

'_Ryoma, wake up.'_

'_Saa, open your beautiful eyes and let us see the change.'_

The young teen stirred fully awake. What had he done? What had they done to him?

He felt lighter, happier, easier - complete, somehow. Strange. His eyes opened, garish light hurt his eyes. It felt as if he had looked straight into a switched on lamp. he cursed by the surprising ache. Ryoma breathed in and out in hisses. Somebody should switch the damn light out! "Sorry, we had forgotten about it."

"You can take a look." A strict and stoic voice announced. Ryoma lifted his left hand, covered his eyes for another impact with the unwelcoming light. The teen sat up and the hands and lips left him. He needed a moment to collect all the things. A hand slid into his sight. Ryoma took a fast peek over his hand and saw the leader's hand. The hand reached out for him and the teen took it thankfully. He stood on his weak feet with his hands leaving his face. The light had been shut out of the room, self-made curtains blocked the windows. Still, his eyes hurt and... had they sharpened?

"...Look at us." The master did automatically as he was told. The five people's smiles went even wider. He stared at them with confusion. Instead of a reply, he was placed by Keigo in front of a mirror which hung on the wall next to the door to the bedroom. His face paled, his eyes grew bigger and his mouth moved like a fish.

"You look beautiful, Ryoma." His eyes were glowing in pure gold, his skin was soft and shone in a pureness he had never seen and any girl would be jealous for, his hair was darker but more gorgeous. He had never seen himself so beautiful. The emerald-haired boy was surprised, touched his skin and hair. Was it real? He moved his shining eyes to the people who stood behind him. They all showed gentleness and love.

"What did you do? Why do I look so different and why is my voice so strange?"

"That is a side effect. Your body has changed the moment you accepted us as your folk or as we call it – your family."

"Family?"

'_That sounds nice. I never had a real family, at least I think so. My parents were randomly by my side and Ryoga had only pulled pranks on me.'_

Genichirou kissed the back of his head, the diva's hands rested on his hips but he didn't mind at all. The leader continued with his explanation. "Yeah, from now on you will live with us like your father had once. Your brother is already waiting at the mansion to see you but we can not allow you to go back to your father. He has allied with the shadows and it would be too dangerous for you to go there. Your father has abandoned us, like the other shadows had left their herd of manbeasts."

"Hmm." A humming tone of acknowledge. The teen was fascinated from his new self. Touching and gazing at himself in the mirror.

"Everyone, don't let your guard down! We will go to school tomorrow; it is already a whole week ago that we had been there. Tomorrow is Monday and I want everybody to be present, nevertheless, we should hurry if we want to meet up with Yanagi and Ryoga." Tezuka commanded, certain his other friends outside would hear him. Syusuke made inner comments of taking many photos later. When he focused on the present again... what he saw made him burst into laugher. Their master got kissed by the stoic fighter, tongues running up his chin and in his mouth. The flushed cheeks, the half-lidded eyes which pleaded for more. If he only knew how tempting he was with this little action.

Genichirou had no idea what he did. it had just happened. He noted the gaze from Ryoma, who had been staring at him for no reason, he needed to taste the red lips. The hunger and the need were too big to ignore them. The adorable kitten tilted his head. Without much hesitation laid the fighter his own lips on the soft, cherry red ones and tasted the addicting taste. He licked the boy's chin and upwards, slid his tongue into the mouth of the distracted boy and they fought for dominance. It was clear who the winner was. Genichirou explored eagerly the wet cavern. His desire took the upper hand. The blood, Ryoma's blood, made him lust after more. The sword fighter got a clue about the words his lovers had said.

Ryoma's blood was special, sweet and untouched. Fresh and floated like toxic in his veins. He wanted more of it. The emerald-haired male flushed, shut his orbs. His legs gave in and strong hands held him protectively and pressed him harder against the muscular chest. He didn't mind and it made him angry at himself. The old Ryoma didn't like to be touched, to be shoved in a corner and rely on others. Now, it was different. The teen demanded more, left them to do what they wanted. He didn't mind at all. Since when gave he in? Since when did he want them? Was that also something from the side effect?

_'The bond is complete, from now on you'll desire us and our blood and nothing else. So it is only natural for you to require us.' _

_'Since you have given Gen your blood, his body is also longing for you, so be careful who you give your blood the next time if you don't want other people lust after you.'_

_'But he said I could heal your wounds with my blood? How should I do it without fearing that my family will rape me afterwards?'_

_'That's the reason why we want you to become our lover. If we mark you as our own, the affect will fade away.'_

_'L-Lover?'_

_'You don't need to answer us right now but give us an answer soon, before the shadows arrive. We are going to need all your strength.'_

The poor master had no time to think, the incoming feelings crashed him back and out of his trance. It wasn't the kiss which confused him, it were the feelings and emotions which flew inside of him and messed up with his body and brain. He felt the excitement grow but it wasn't his excitement, the pleasure to moan but it wasn't his pleasure, the need to touch weren't his, even if he wanted it too. It felt different as if it came from another person. A hand rested on his butt, forced him closer to the chest. The blush on his cheeks grew larger and spread finally over his ears, too – left his whole face in the color of red. "Gen, control yourself, will you? There is no time for an orgy!"

The kiss stopped, the returning space brought him oxygen to relax. Ryoma revealed his eyes and another face slid in front of him. "Ryoma, are you mad at me?" Fuji put up his pouting expression, viewed at him with the hands on his shoulders. A scary feeling crashed along his bones and gave him a cold shiver. What the hell was wrong with him? It weren't his feelings.

'_Mad? Why should I be mad at him?'_

Ryoma frowned but avoided eye contact when the puzzle got back together. Syusuke had bitten him, drunk his blood and nearly… killed him? The teen remembered. The feelings changed anew, uncertainty and the fear of losing something important made him run cold. It frightened him, made him freeze and he twitched with his body. The hands from his shoulders fell. Stop, he hadn't meant it that way! He shook his head violently, stared with his golden orbs into sapphire blue eyes and touched slowly the face of the brunette.

'_I'm not mad but don't you dare to do it again!'_

The distance between them got closer, the younger teen shut slowly his eyes, let his instinct guide him. The kiss was soft and gentle; the fingertips over his cheek were carefully stroking his pale skin. Was it normal to feel like this? Was it normal to let everybody kiss him and feel fine with it? Did he turn into one of _those_ people? "Oi, we don't want to see you doing dirty things!" Kirihara yelled and crossed his arms across his chest. The furious face of the baby of the family was enough to explain his feelings for his new master.

"Don't be jealous, Akaya. We still love you."

"Ne, shouldn't we hurry if we want to meet up with Ryoma's brother? Me and the others are starving. " The youngest manbeast changed the topic. It was later than expected.

"Why do we need to meet up with him? My brother will only get another attack of his craziness."

"Yanagi is with him and I think you don't want to lose one of your folk because he gets infected by your brother's strangeness, do you?" Their master shook his head, walked behind them to the door.

'_Your folk. They say it like I'm the king. Well, in fact; I'm the master. Genichirou told me I can control them? Mhm... I want to test it.'_

**_~~ 17. December, Late Morning ~~_**

They were all outside, prepared for the way. Ryoma scanned them, searched for a victim. He focused on one of them, tried out his new power. His victim was Eiji. The teen concentrated with his entire mind at one point.

'_Sit, sit, sit, sit, sit…'_

He pouted at his miserable try and search for some other method to make the jumping male sit or fall to the ground. Revenge for the bear hugges which made him gaps for air. He moved his hand up and down but stopped as he thought how dump it must look like. Perhaps they had lied or he misunderstood them? Maybe he could only control them if they were in their other form?

'_You're really cute, aren't you?'_

'_You need to speak it out, the first name and the command but to warn you straight forward. Whenever we are in our human form and the more tails we have, the harder will it be for you.'_

'_In other words because you two have five tails and are in human form right now I can't control you so easily and need to practice.'_

_'What a smart master we have.'_

Ryoma bit his bottom lip, he wanted to try it once more. Calling the name and telling a command. What was the name of the jumping red head again?

'_Kikumaru Eiji. I hope you know our names. You should call out for Momoshiro Takeshi, he's one of the few who hasn't many tails and I need to get my revenge anyway.'_

'_Sure, nobody would forget the names of the sadistic tensais who forced me on their laps and harassed me on my first day in school.'_

The teen had no idea where the cockiness came from but it felt brilliant not to fear. The smirk couldn't be suppressed anymore and that was what got some of their attention. Focus, calling first name and command. "Takeshi, sit."

With a loud '_thud'_ the called boy fell on his butt, yepled at the sudden loss of control over his body. The others laughed, hissed, chuckled with all their lungs, having watched the reason for the fall. His master was filled with proud. No, he would definitely not regret his choice. That would be fun.

* * *

"Oi, who the hell was that, I didn't do anything, really didn't!" The spiky-haired male glared around to search for his attacker. He would have jumped at the vipers throat but his anger disbanded when he saw the smirk/smile on his little master's face.

The little brat had commanded him! As if he was a dog! Momoshiro stumped to the smirking kid, he would tell the kid his mind. The spiky-haired teen regretted his decision. Their elders shot him an awaiting look, especially Kunimitsu. "I wanted to congratulate him, nothing more." He swung his hands in the air, forfeiting. A battle against one of them was a lost battle.

"Let's go everybody. Don't let your guard down. The snowstorm has ended and the snow isn't too deep to walk through it. Be careful and don't leave the group!"

* * *

The humans turned into their manbeast form and watched their master. Ryoma stared back. What now? Did they want to have an order? Could he change into one of them too or were they waiting for him to do something? Why were they staring at him?

'_You're too slow, nya; even if you would run you would be still too slow.'_

_'Jump on my back and be grateful to ride on the great Ore-sama!'_

The last voice came from the purple-furred manbeast.

'_Ride you? Are you insane? I will fall down and…'_

A push from the right and left and Ryoma found himself sitting on the back of the diva. So much to the topic _he_ can control _them_!

'_Hold on to me tightly and don't fall down.'_

'_Saa, that's a pretty sight you make, Ryoma.'_

'_Syusuke! Stop it or you'll run laps as soon as we reach the mansion. We have no time for your seductions.'_

The fast ride was actually exciting. The manbeasts were near him all the time and kept him warm with their fur. He wore a grey pullover and black pants, Tezuka had given him clothes to dress up before they left the house. Ryoma felt himself smile with his eyes wide open and his hands holding the purple fur. The trees flew around him but never touched him, the air rushed through his dark hair. Freedom.

* * *

"The plan is perfect. Good idea, Akito!" Cole threw the knife once more at the wooden object and hit the centre of it. "It's sad they were able to cut your connection with Ryoma so soon but your idea is wonderful. They can't change into their animal form if other humans are in their proximity. Let's see, who could do it?"

"Nanjiroh would be the best and Chorne could also do it."

"I think you're right. Good job, Akito. Get the two here, they will start with their new work from today onwards!"

**~~ 17. December, Early Midday ~~**

He hopped down from Keigo and waited for them to change their form. It would have felt wrong to be the first one to enter the house without them by his side. Sparkles showered him and blocked his eyes for an blink of an eye. Ryoma stared at them and he couldn't take his eyes away. His golden orbs landed on the smaller brunette. Syusuke had his eyes closed in a half-moon and smiled happily.

'_I want to kiss him.'_

'_You can do it tonight as much as you pleas.'_

'_Can you at least do as if you wouldn't hear it?'_

'_No, where is the fun if I would do that?'_

'_Sadist!'_

The family walked past the high double-door and into the room where they were greeted by a worried and overreacted brother in a wheelchair.

"Ryoma!"


	14. Lovers VS Brother

**A/N: A very big THANKS to **_Lady Queria_** and **_bunnykim89 _**!**

**Pairing: OT6**

**Disclaimer: As always.**

**WARNING: Light Lemon ahead!**

* * *

**_~~ Lovers VS Brother ~~_**

**_~~ 17. December, Early Midday ~~_**

Ryoma got into a bear hug from his dear brother, it kick the last bit of air out of him and the need to breathe was immense. "Let go! Ryoga!"

_'Since when is he so worried about me? Usually, he would ignore or prank me.'_

"Thank god, you're alright! They haven't done anything bad to you, have they? Tell your big brother that your back doesn't hurt!" The sparkling, glowing eyes were unseen by the worried brother. The tensais pulled their love out of the tight embrace and guided him to some other room – upstairs - where no boy in a wheelchair would interrupt them. Kunimitsu looked to the two and shook his head, feeling a headache coming up. If it was going to be like this forever, he would need to speak to the possessive prodigies.

"Hey! Don't you dare to touch my little brother in any sexual way! I have allowed him to stay with you but not for **such** a reason! Don't you dare dirty his innocent mind!" Ryoga shouted behind the five manbeasts - Kunimitsu, Genichirou and Keigo followed their master. What the older sibling heard from his brother gave him a shock for the life.

"It's a bit too late for this kind of warning!" The rest of the herd went inside and straight to the tidy living room, past Ryoga. The door upstairs was shut, the stunned brother frozen to stone.

* * *

Ryoma entered the room and was pulled onto a soft purple-colored king-sized bed, Syusuke hovering over him with his face very close to his own. The brown locks tickled his cheeks and temples, hid his face from everyone. The watched, glared, stared at one another, nothing more but it was enough for the desire in him to rise. His golden eyes glowed when passion overwhelmed him. He didn't know why but he wanted the tensai to come closer, kiss him like he had done earlier. It was a strange and foreign feeling to desire something or someone so much. The brunette waved his brown hair in his face, gave his cheek one lick and distanced himself.

"Not now, but we'll take care of it in the afternoon." Ryoma's eyes turned back to normal, a blush spread his cheeks, his body receiving a chill from the sensual voice.

"Syusuke, stop it. Ryoma come here." Kunimitsu sat down next to the lying teen. "Kei, call one of your maids. She shall measure Ryoma's height." The diva left the bedroom and returned in less than three minutes. Keigo stomped inside, a furious expression on his face and a scared maid in tow. A yelling voice from downstairs got shut out when Keigo slammed the door close. Genichirou took place beside his blue-haired lover while Syusuke sat down on his lap teasingly. The five pulled and shoved him out of the bed and watched how he got stripped unwillingly. Ryoma's protests were ignored and at the end, he wore only his underwear with the maid starting to measure his body. The teen felt hot sights on his body in no time, the glowing eyes which were filled with lust. He could feel their emotions. The thrill drowned him, messed with his brain. The emotions welled his own feelings up, rose them to no end.

"Why do I need to do this?"

"We don't have any clothes in your size and Ore-sama can't allow you to wear trash. I'll let my tailors create some new ones today but first we need to know your size."  
Atobe spoke in his majestic voice and sat on the bed too, leaning his head on Genichirou's shoulder. Silently and slowly closing the emotional distance. Would Mitsu go with him? Being a sixsome?

"We coul.."

"Forget it, Ryoma. We'll not let you get near the house once more. Your father had been our master once and because of it we know how he fights. We had heard from Akutsu that he joined the shadows, so he is the foe as well and we're pretty much sure one of them is taking an eye over your old home." The sharp voice didn't suit the brown-haired teen. Ryoma liked it better when the voice was soft and gentle.

"His special ability is to shield himself and other people in an certain amount of space. In other words - if they kidnap you and drag you to your father or Chorne, who has the same ability, we can't help you! They will block us and our attacks. Your father might be weak with his ability as he probably hasn't used it anymore since the... incident but we need to be careful." The diva said with a frown on his beautiful visage.

"Please, understand." Tezuka spoke, gazed at him with his passionate eyes.

"mhm.. about the clothes, I don't have any mone…"

"Ore-sama will pay for everything, don't worry." The young teen open his mouth to snap, nevertheless, he got interrupted by a yell from downstairs.

"RYOMA!" There was only one person who would be this reckless. Was his older brother living with them? He would see him everyday and would need to endure his teasing too or were it now his hugs? The small, cold house without him seemed somehow more welcomed right now. He dressed himself up again, after the maid finished her work. "CHIBISUKE!"

The displeasured groans from the bed, the sighs and the exhausted gestures were like his. They weren't very fond on his older brother. How interesting, normally it was the other side around. Ryoma had only a few friends and his brother had many friends and girlfriends. He got ignored while his brother was the centre of attention. Right now it was the opposite and it amused him.

"Why does he need to live here as well? Why the hell does he has such a big brother complex? He is even worse than Syusuke!" The diva wailed with his hand on his paining forehead. The glare from ocean blue eyes pierced him.

"Did you say something, Kei?"

"You have a brother? Have I met him yet?"

"Yeah and no. He lives in Australia. I haven't seen him for the past couple of years." Sadness, Ryoma noticed it. The theme seemed to be a sore spot. His stomach growled thankfully right in time, taking everyone's attention. The glowing eyes were turned to him once again. The fire in them didn't disappear, the longing and the want were bigger than before. It was a shame their master was already dressed.

"Do you think we can go down and grab something to eat?" He stood in front of them, not knowing what do to next. Genichirou took his hand and pulled him a bit forward.

"Why go to the kitchen if you meal is in front of you?" Seiichi laid his right hand around Genichirou's waist, the other hand was intertwined with Syusuke's. Kunimitsu sat Ryoma down on his lap, making himself, and the boy as well, blush. Keigo pushed a loosen strand of hair behind the boy's ear.

* * *

"They did it on purpose! Leaving me here while they woo my little Chibisuke." Ryoga tried to stand up but more than two pairs of hands pushed him down. The emerald-haired teen glared up to the guys who held him back. One had dark brown skin, the other short white hair and orange/brown eyes, the third had black hair and looked like a demon with his scary eyes. The last one had red hair and a blue bubble gum in his mouth.

"You'll not disturb my brothers or I'll crush you!" The demon licked sadistically his lips.

"I'm not someone you can order around!" Ryoga slapped the hands away from his body. Yeah, he was sure. They wouldn't hurt but protect his little brother, however, didn't it mean he trusted them entirely. First he thought it would be perfect but after they had come through the door, he had seen the lusting glances at his Chibisuke. Their gazes were directed too strong at his little brother. Protecting him was fine but getting too close and touch his too young brother in any sexual way was everything else than fine!

"You're lucky, you're still alive. You should be careful! If you interrupt them in the middle of something good, there will be only a very small chance for you to survive. Ryoma isn't powerful enough. He can't control their movements, yet." Jackal leaned his body against the next wall

"Just because you're... different doesn't mean I'm helpless!"

"Why are you so against it, brat? Our master has already accepted us and closed the bond. He can't back out now and I can hear and see that he doesn't want to back out. I hope you don't want him to change his mind, do you?" The voice was rough and deep. The danger and aggression was spitted out in every word. The hate was equilateral. Akutsu blocked the way up the stairs with his foot.

"My brother is only fifteen and not even thrice as old as the youngest of you! I know your eldest friends are all over 100 years old! I have seen their stares at him and I'll not give in to them just because Chibisuke is your master! If you have forgotten what fifteen years means for a human, I'll explain it for you once more! He is underage, should enjoy his live without sex, drugs and some other crazy things in his mind!"

"It seems for me, you just don't want him to be loved." Marui couldn't understand him. What was so wrong about loving each other? He fell in love with a girl, who was the same age as Ryoma, too. He had slept with her and nothing bad had happened.

"If you would watch your brother better, instead of our eldest ones, you would see the feeling are equal. The brat will not survive without them, not anymore. He'll need their blood as they need his and if you won't stop interfere, then we'll stop you, brat senior." Akatsu hissed the words. Eiji, who had listened from afar, took Karupin in his arms. The cat was all alone the past few days. Only the maids were here but didn't really play with him. Ryoga recognized the Himalayan cat. How could Karupin do this to him? Such a traitor! His master could lose his innocents in every possible moment and the cat purred happily in the boy's arms!

"Oi, oi, calm down everybody. How about I make some breakfast and we take a little walk outside? Ryoma must be hungry as well and I think he would be embarrassed when he knows that we were listening." The mother hen led them into the kitchen, rolling Ryoga away from the stairs – the teen let it unwillingly happen.

"Listening at him by what?"

"Well, how can I say it… after the bond is complete, his desire will rise for the one who gives him the needing blood. Means if Tezuka gives Ryoma his blood now, Ryoma's body will get sensitive to his touch and sometimes it happens that the sexual desire is growing along with the hunger. Haha… it's kinda funny, don…" Oishi, who had come out of the living room, explained.

"RYOMA!"

"Are you crazy? You have no clue how cruel they get if somebody disturb them while they have their private time! I know what I'm talking about!" The demon, a.k.a. Kirihara, got scared and searched for a safe place. He had disturbed them once. It was the time where they were eating. Horrible. The youngest manbeast had been frightened for the rest of his life by the sight. The raw emotions and the animal-like behavor. They had growled at him and if he hadn't moved backwards and out of the room, they might have attacked him. They hadn't any master back then but Ryoma wasn't so strong as to stop them yet, was he?

"CHIBISUKE!" A cloth got pushed into his mouth, ended his annoying and noisy yells.

"We are going to remove it after you have calmed down and won't scream anymore, nya!"

* * *

"Before that, I have a question..." He gazed in their eyes, waited for an anser to go on. They nodded. "How am I able to shut you two out of my mind?" His sight stilled on Seiichi and Syusuke. Kunimitsu tightened the grip around the boy's waist, Keigo played with Ryoma's dark hair while Genichirou stroke soothingly his hand.

"Hehe.. That would be no fun." A kiss was placed on his right cheek. He narrowed his right eye, otherwise blue strands of hair would poke it.

"Saa, I like it as it is right now." Another kiss. This time on his left cheek. Ryoma made the same movement, narrowing his eyes at the brown strands of hair. The hair tickled his face.

"Yeah, I believe _you_ find it funny to read my mind but I don't like it! At least tell me what I need to do!"

"What you need to do?" Seiichi asked off guard, then smirked like the sadist he was. He glanced to his smart lover who read his mind. The other tensai smirked teasingly as well. "Mhm.. what you need to do? I don't think you want to know and your brother will make a scene if he hears about it." The two made a look like they were thinking really hard - it was fake and Ryoma saw it. They were lying it didn't matter what was coming next - it was a lie. They played with him! Ryoma gazed pleadingly at the swordfighter, hoping he would get some help from him but the prodigies stop Genichirou.

"Hold it, Gen. You know what happens to naughty boys."

"Sorry, Ryoma."

'_What the…?'_

"It's Syu or Syusuke, not Fuji. You call Gen by his first name but why not us? Do you want to know what happens to bad boys, Ryoma?" The brunette kissed him hard on the lips, Syusuke's hands stayed on his thighs. Keigo followed the example and nibbled at his lovely right ear.

"Call us by our first names, too." The smaller brunette change with the bluenette, letting his friend have some fun too. Kunimitsu licked along the boy's neck after he had put his glasses away. Genichirou made a hickey right at the throat where everyone could see it. Ryoma moaned. Feeling five different emotions in his heart. They influenced him, changed his mood from embarrassed to loved and to pleasure. His breath turned into heavy pants. His throat turned dry, his body heated up with his heart beating in his chest rapidly. Hunger. The hunger grew stronger with every kiss and lick.

'_I'm thirsty. I'm hungry.'_

They laid him down onto the bed, played with him and left his brain in a mess. Someone lifted his back, making him arched his spine. What did they want?  
The sudden coldness let him realized the finger on his sweatshirt. The cloth fell down onto the floor, left his bare chest on the bed. Ryoma had half-lidded golden orbs who watched with interest at their play. They touched his upper torso, left hickeys and bite marks. It felt good, unknown and amazing. His body wanted more. All the attention inhaled, the hands and lips disappeared.

"I would like to ask my master for a favour." The swordfighter asked, watched him with gentleness. The teen nodded, back to his normal self. "I want you to drink from my blood."

Ryoma blinked, swallowed the lump in his throat. His nails dug in the sheets. "I don't mind." The words left his mouth sooner than expected. Had he even thought about it?

"Good. Open your mouth." Genichirou hissed as he scratched the left side of his throat with his nails, leaving a little open wound.

The red liquid streamed out of the wound and along the skin, as soon as Ryoma took sight of the delicious red liquid and smelled it, his eyes began to glow in pure gold. His body acted on his own, he loosened his strong grip on the sheets and pushed Genichirou beneath him. The four other teens were surprised by the sudden change and backed away; sometimes it happened that a master got out of control but it had never happened so fast. The emerald-haired boy sat on Genichirou's chest, started licking and sucking on the wound to drink the wonderful liquid. Ryoma moved his hips in a sensual rhythm, making the person under him aroused. The black-haired teen groaned, didn't stop his master from giving him pleasure. The boy took only little sips, not enough to bring him in a dangerous condition.

"Ryoma…" Seiichi licked his lips, sliding his hand over the back and forward where the pink nipples were waiting for his attention. "… I'm here as well." The bluenette let his skinny hand fly over the boy's chest, Syusuke followed suit and kissed Seiichi on the mouth while his hand ghosted also over the backside of his master's body. Kunimitsu took Keigo's hand and led him into the little orgy which played in front of them. Maybe it was the only time they would get to be with their master and also with the others. The diva shut Genichirou's mouth with his, not letting the chance escape to taste the other one. Kunimitsu broke the kiss between the tensais and kissed his brown-haired childhood friend with passion. Seiichi played along, took Ryoma off Genichirou and sat him on his lap. The two knelt, chest against chest in the middle of the king-sized bed.

Keigo licked over Gen's wound, receiving a hiss. In the meantime, Ryoma was drinking Seiichi's blood with the same desire. Licking and sucking in small gulps, pushing his body closer and tighter against the bluenette's. He couldn't stop; he wanted more – needed more! The atmosphere changed from cool to hot and breathless. They only kissed themselves senseless, not touching the other's member but it was enough to make them high. They groaned nearly in unison, moaned in lust. It felt amazing, the heat around them, the icy and hot breath from one another over the few paces of free, bare skin.

In the next moment the door shot open, a tired but shocked Ryoga entered the room, his wheelchair left behind. He had dragged himself up the stairs with his broken leg. The manbeasts didn't let go of one another, going further on with their activity. Ryoma was still on his knees, his naked chest pressed against Seiichi's, his hips hadn't stopped moving and his hands roamed under the bluenette's shirt, touched the pale, soft skin. His mouth was explored by Seiichi's tongue, after they had fought for dominance – Ryoma clearly lost but still enjoyed it.

* * *

"R-Ryoma… Oh shit…" Ryoga was speechless. He had heard some moans and groans from upstairs and had made his way up the stairs to look if something bad had happened but what he saw made him scared of his own little brother.

Blood was running down Ryoma's mouth, he drank it with delight, licked every bloodstain from the male's body. His eyes were glowing in the same color as the creature's, maybe even brighter, his body moved in a seductive way, making each other fall for him. Ryoma's neck, throat, chest and arms had many hickeys, showing the proof about the intensive activity. He was disgusted, scared, confused and disappointed at his brother. His little, innocent Chibisuke had turned into one of them! He thought his little brother would at least stay as he was! "Ryoma! Stop it! That's not you!"

The biggest mistake he could have done and he did it. Five pairs of golden, glowing eyes glared at him with anger and annoyance.  
His brother didn't even care and licked further on the skin while he was held strongly and steady by Seiichi. The bluenette pressed him tighter on his own body, he wouldn't let him go and he didn't want Ryoma to stop. Their master needed the blood and the state Ryoma was in right at the moment had something like a limit. The old Ryoma would be back soon and then he wouldn't dare to attract them so freely.

"Out! Now!" Kunimitsu spoke each word with a cold and hateful manner. His voice was steady, strong and quiet. The silence before the storm. Ryoga didn't move, his weak legs couldn't move.

"Leave." The diva hissed out.

"What have you done with my brother? He isn't even seeing me! He changed from the pure child he once was!" Kunimitsu, Genichirou, Syusuke and Keigo stood up from the bed and moved to him. Their anger was truly shown and Ryoga saw his mistake. They were like wild animal in their mating season. It was far worse as their ordinary state.

"Gen. Syu. Kei. Mitsu." Ryoma looked up. His look was different than ordinary, his right hand lay on Seiichi's shoulder while his left hand lay on his neck, holding his body up. The manbeasts reacted at the order. Their master's control was over them, the wild animal inside of them was still untamed and roared inside its inner cage. Ryoma stretched out a hand for them, signalling them to come back. They did as their master told them. Ryoga was fascinated and couldn't believe it. The person on the bed with the same hair color as him was no his little brother. It was someone entirely different and that scared him. Where was his tennis fanatic Chibisuke who loved only his cat and tennis? He wanted him back! "Go, Ryoga. Leave, please."

"What?"

"I said, leave. I can't hold them back much longer." The older one from the siblings nodded and turned around, running into someone behind him. The group from earlier turned out to be much larger and stared with changing emotions to their good master who had only his pants on. He had more control over them as over his own body but at least he had stopped them from killing his older brother.

"Ryoga, come with us and if you dare to flee we'll seriously cage you!" Yanagi was at the end with his nerves. The brown-haired teen may have much patience but with this young man, even his patience was much too small. Ryoga got carried back; his injured foot hurt like hell and any pressure on it made him want to scream. He took on last glance at his Chibisuke and still couldn't believe what had just happened. Since when was his brother so strong and powerful? Since when was he so… beautiful and scary at the same time? Was it still his younger brother?

**_~~ 17. December, Late Afternoon ~~_**

It was already dark outside when the six came down. Ryoma had once again gained control over his body and mind. His eyes and view changed back to ordinary – as if the demanding boy from earlier had never exist. Strange. He hoped that he would see the shadow of his brother never again. Or was it already too late?

The clothes for Ryoma got finished by a few worker of Atobe. They were ready to go to school. No one of them thought about the shadows at the moment. Forgetting that they were still in their revenge, having a plan to kill the last one.


	15. Another School Day

**A/N: I have rewritten my story on the 21. July. I didn't appreciate the old story. I would advice you to read from the beginning as I have changed quite a lot. I'm sorry if you liked the older one better.**

**Pairing: OT6**

**Disclaimer: Do not own anything.**

* * *

**_~~ Another School Day ~~_**

**_~~ 18. December, Morning ~~_**

Ryoma woke up from a rough shook. Someone's hands were lying at his right shoulder and waist and tossed him from one side to another. His mind stirred and his brain turned on while his eyes were still closed. The boy didn't have a clue how he knew it but he was certain - it wasn't someone from his new family who shook him so violently. Perhaps they would wake him up gentler?

"Ryoma, wake up! C'mon, sleepyhead! Wake up! I need to talk to you!" The younger boy ignored his annoying older brother's voice and turned around, pulling the covers further up and over his head. The shoving didn't stop, got only rougher and Ryoga began to talk louder. Five minutes later and Ryoma sighed in annoyance.

"Go away! At least give me a few more minutes to sleep." His voice was muffled from the puffy blanket as he snuggled his face into the warm pillow. The emerald-haired teen noted it was a real pillow and not the good smelling, warm, moving and comfortable pillow he had had for the last few times.

How dare they move away while he was asleep! He heard triumphantly snickers in his head, and couldn't help but smile before recovering and relaying again. His brother was suddenly furious.

"Chibisuke, Hurry. And. Get. UP!" With a strong pull by the last word, the cover was pulled away and the earlier peaceful teen snapped his eyes open and pulled at the blanket to get it back. It was cold, still dark outside and Ryoma was still tired. His brother knew it all, nonetheless, teased him further.

"Hey, are you insane? Give me back my blanket!" The two fought a bit more over the puffy thing, just as a smooth voice rang in Ryoma's head - Seiichi's voice - the boy let go of the blanket. Ryoga who had somehow managed to escape the manbeasts' sight and got up the stairs without his wheelchair anew - stumbled back and hit the wall with his backside, breathing in sharply from the pain. His sibling got out of the bed like hypnotized and walked carefully out of the room.

"Ryoma." The older sibling had a feeling if he wouldn't hold his Chibisuke back right now, he would lose him forever. Something inside of him yelled to lock his younger brother away and keep him safe but another part of him wanted to give his brother's choice a chance. He wasn't and would never be happy about his younger brother leaving him. Ryoma had always been a lonely person but to see his little brother trusting some strangers, who they only knew for a few days, more than him, his older brother, made him sad and angry. Since when was his little Chibisuke so mature? So beautiful? So independent and happy? He couldn't turn the time back and he understood his little brother was old enough to think about himself but… would his little brother still be the same or would he become the stranger he had seen yesterday? Ryoma turned around and gazed in his eyes.

"I know what you feel and think. I can hear and feel it. I don't know how I do it and… I still have no clue how I should explain it to you and Mom but I have made this choice and I don't regret it. You have never really understood me, you have never before cared so affective for me and I can't find an answer to the question why you do it now. Why are you so headstrong about me now? Now that I have found some people who do understand me and want - need - me!"

"I did care for you all the time! I promised our Dad to protect you from them. Do you want to know why Dad left them and hates them? Your _'family'_ had nearly killed all of us ten years ago. You were lost in the city and a beast in human form found you and hurt you with his claws. If Dad hadn't killed it and I hadn't found you right in time, you would be dead! Dad was a hunter back then and wanted to make us his followers but while you had been in the hospital from blood loss, he saw the marks on your body. After that more and more manbeasts appeared and came to our house, begged and pleaded to us to give you to them but our parents said no because they feared to never see you again! One day the creatures tried to kidnap you from us. Mom got hurt badly when one of them had bit her in the shoulder without a second thought! I don't want you to ge-"

"What would you do if the person you need, so you can stay alive, would be locked away from you? Have you ever thought why they did it? Ryoga, are you so stupid? My death would mean the death of hundreds or perhaps more and if Dad wanted to protect me then why has the old man decided to sacrifice and kill me, so he could live? What kind of father would abandon his son for his own damn gut? You're right about Mom getting hurt but they only wanted to protect me and if the old man hadn't declared war with them, they wouldn't have attacked in the first place!"

"He had no other choice! Dad has experienced what it means to be a beast master and what it means to be a hunter. He-" The older teen got interrupted once more.

"You know why he had left them and why he had joined the hunters? Why do you know but I don't? I was never meant to be a hunter! The old man left me all out of it! He taught me tennis and that was it. Why had he explained everything to you but not to me? Wasn't it me who was and still is in danger? If you really care for me, you would have at least told me something about the mess before I got into it! Akito had nearly killed me!" Ryoma stepped forward.

"Wh.. Ryoma, wait! I wanted to tell you but you wouldn't have believed me! You never did! But why do you believe them so easily? WE ARE your family! Not them! Or have you forgotten the last fifteen years?"

"Nobody in _your _family has ever seen me! Only now you care for me. Now that you all know that I'm.. different. I lived my life alone because nobody saw me! But suddenly you cling to me, right after I found some special people, people who need and want me, be it even that they can't exist without me. At least they will care if I'm hurt or in danger. They would risk their lives for mine, what proof do you want more?"

"That's not true! I have cared for you all the time! You just hadn't seen it! And I-" The door opened and five dressed males walked in while a horde of other teen's waited outside. The glares for Ryoga and the happy glanced to Ryoma made their feelings clear. Ryoga was not very welcome. They had warned him about leaving them and going up the stairs.

"Ryoma, we need to get you ready for school." The arm over his shoulder and the arm around his waist pushed the young teen slightly forward. Syusuke leaned in and kissed his head, sniffing at the scent. The manbeasts had become possessive and overly protective after their session yesterday. maybe he should have answered differently? Kunimitsu had waited at the door frame with the diva, while Genichirou and Seiichi had followed their smaller brown-haired lover. The officially fivesome gathered around their little one and they all got ready for school - leaving a sad and hurt Ryoga at the end of the room against the wall. Was it already too late to safe his little brother from the new stranger?

**_~~ 18. December, Late Morning ~~_**

The weather was nice when they arrived at school. His would-be lovers watched out for him not to trip on the icy ground. The mood was tense, nobody spoke. The manbeasts noticed the quietness and restless of their master as Ryoma thought about his brother's strange behavior and about the always changing feelings in his stomach. The boy needed some time to think, needed some time to be alone.

Why had he felt so hurt after leaving Ryoga alone?  
Had he said something wrong?  
Had he done something wrong?

When they reached the school – Ryoga was forced to stay at home because of his broken leg - the fangirls were already in place, screaming at them from all directions and one girl with two brown piggytails and a spot under her right eye grabbed for him but missed his arm as Keigo had pulled him out of reach. His new look, his new shining skin and dark hair, it seemed he was like a magnet for the girls and also boys. The diva smiled a very charming smile to all the crazy fangirls and they melted deeply into the ground. His ability to woo every woman was unexpected useful in this kind of situation but the boys were still after them.

"Don't you dare be unfaithful to Ore-sama." He heard the diva say it and when he took a glance around; he was alone with Eiji, Inui, Oishi, Keigo, Syusuke and Seiichi. The others had already entered their own classes, like he got leaded to his seat by the tensais. Only then he noticed the stares of everyone. Great, he drew every attention to him – exactly what he didn't want. To make everything more twisted, the diva dared to kiss his forehead and whisper dirty words in his ear. "Don't forget who made the hickeys on your body." If his face was pale a minute ago, then it would be crimson red by now. Thank God, Shida-sensei entered the room and the stunned students turned all attention to the front. English – good, he could take a nap and try to think. He had lived in America long enough to speak English fluently.

"Be quiet! You'll have a new teacher for English lesson." A big, muscular man showed himself in neat clothes. His short brown hair suited him and let him look younger but also strict. "Please, introduce yourself."

"My name is Kusaki Chorne. Pleased to meet you." The man bowed down and when he glanced up, Ryoma stared into dark eyes. Something inside the teen clenched together, he felt like throwing up. Something threw his stomach apart.

'_Stop it! Stop messing me up! What is wrong?'_

'_He is a shadow. I can feel his shield, his ability, surrounding you.'_

'_Saa, he has gotten stronger. His shield is blocking his thoughts. I can't read him.'_

'_He is after us. The shadows have planned something, I'm sure of it. We need to be very careful!'_

_'He looks nice, not so dark like Akito.'_

There was a dangerous silence in his head. Had he thought something wrong? He had just said the man in front of him looked nice… oh. The air grew thick and the pressure on his body got stronger, the grip around him tightened. The possessive bastards had become jealous from such a simple statement? He had said nice- NICE! Not Hot or sexy or good looking or beautiful or… God damned, he hadn't meant anything by it. Ryoma had wanted to say the man looked harmless! The grip tightened, his stomach repelled and if those two wouldn't stop, he would puke onto his desk. His head was swimming with all kinds of emotions, it made him sick. He wanted them to stop and he would bring them to stop! He was their master after all.

"Syusuke, Seiichi, stop and settle down!" He said, stood up from his chair and the whole class turned their heads in his direction, the female teacher and the new one as well. His classmates began to giggle and laugh out loud, pointing at him with their fingers. Oishi smiled warmly, Inui scribbled wildly some new data in his new textbook – his old one was full – Eiji burst out into laughers while Keigo and the tensais snickered as they all viewed at him with amused eyes. Nothing had happened; he wasn't strong enough to control them yet.

Damn it!

He had made a n embarrassment out of himself. The young beast master was flushed and his whole body burnt from the heat, his cheeks were flushed like a cherry. "Echizen Ryoma, sit down and watch your manners!" Shida-sensei scolded him and the boy sat down hurriedly again, bowing his head, trying to hide his still red face. His classmates were still laughing, oh dear…

_'Nice try but mada mada dane.'_

Ryoma could only growl by the teasing. He would get his revenge, not only by his brother but also by them! "Why, what a lively class. So let's begin with the lesson, shall we?" Chorne said and smiled truthfully. The young boy was funny, strange but funny. The emerald-haired boy had something warm and pure on him. The failed command, the smiles and snickers from the manbeasts, the light atmosphere – it was as if he was back in his youth where he was the master. When they had loved him and he had loved them – his herd.

**_~~ 18. December, Midday ~~_**

The class went on with the tensais talking in his head and teasing him to insanity. Good thing he was the best in English otherwise he would have had the same problems as his classmates. The bell rang and the students and Shida-sensei walked out of the room. Ryoma put his book and papers into his new bag - Keigo had bought him one of the luxurious schoolbags, he couldn't bear seeing his little one carrying an old unstylish schoolbag - and when he looked up, he was pulled out of his chair and gently shoved to the door. The manbeasts had rushed to him and built a wall around him as if they wanted to protect him from some sniper. Their hope of escaping the shadow named Chorne was to no avail. The new teacher stopped them. "Echizen, I would like to talk with you. It's about…"

"We're alone now, no need to keep the act up. We know who you are, shadow."

"Piss off, you won't get our Ochibi and we'll fight for him, even if only one of us is still standing, nya. Give this message to the others." It was unusual for Eiji to tick off but it truly happened. Kunimitsu grabbed his master's wrist and pushed the poor boy behind the herd. Sadly, he had forgotten the stubborn nature of his new master as Ryoma didn't move an inch. One thing he had never liked - being pushed around. The young teen frowned and gazed into Chorne's eyes. Why was he feeling confusion and doubt? Why was he feeling flattered and … had butterflies in his stomach? It weren't his feelings, he was sure of that. But who? And where did they come from?

"Ryoma, what is it?" The emerald-haired teen ignored the bluenette and looked around. More and more manbeasts entered the room but he was searching for one special face. His view stopped by Eiji and the cat-like male tilted his head in question. Ryoma's glance went back to Chorne. Whenever he looked at the jumping red head his stomach felt funny – like he had felt when the five…. Better forget about this, before they used this information as blackmail.

"So your ability has already started to grow? I'm impressed how much you trust them but I would like you to keep my little secret for a little longer." The boy twitched and frowned, glanced up and looked in the stranger's eyes. He saw something sparkle in these eyes, something lighting up and trying to tell him a message.

Ryoma nodded, ignoring the glares of the possessive family members and shrugged the hand off, which rested and had a tightly grip on his shoulders. Then the words of Chorne sank in his brain. "Started to grow? What do you mean?" The golden eyes pouted and the shadow laughed by the cute sight. This teen was truly the last one? The boy was young and innocent, he would never harm anyone on purpose – Chorne knew it from the first sight on. Would he manage to control the wild herd?

Ryoma was a beauty thanks to the blood and his lightly arrogant but lovely side made him popular and also charming. The child would be unbelievable strong in no time. His ability was already growing after such a short time of changing. It had been less than a month and his talent to feel the other people's emotions reached through his shield. It was amazing. The brunette was sure the other manbeasts were on their way here to help and fight for their last one. They would fight till the end. He shook his head and left the room, taking one more look to the red head who cuddled with the bowl-haired male. Why did he always fall in love with people he would never get?

"E-Er…e-e-excuse me…." The horde of males turned around and saw a girl with two long brown ponytails. "E-Echizen, d-do you want to.. er.. go and eat lunch with me?" The poor – very poor – girl hid behind the door and only her head was shown. She was shy and hoped her prince would have some lunch with her to get closer but before her charming prince could even answer, she stared in golden glowing eyes.

"Go away, girl. He has no time for you!" Syusuke hissed possessively and embraced his master. He wouldn't allow his little one to meet up with another person unlike it was a manbeast he knew and trusted. It was far too dangerous. The chance of Ryoma getting hurt was too high. Sakuno cried out loud and ran away.

"Hey! Since when do you plan my day? What if I wanted to eat with her?"

"You don't and you have no clue who she was or what her name is called. I read your thoughts."

"Bu-"

"No argument now! As long as the shadow is here, you are not allowed to leave our side. It is too dangerous!" The stoic swordfighter pulled him out of the room and away from the squeaking girls. Their fans grabbed for the youngest teen and tried to talk with him but the overprotected friends, brothers and lovers hindered them from doing so. It was a hard day as it went on like this in every break. How long would it take them to get used to him? To his new look? They went to the rooftop and forged out new plans. The poor boy couldn't follow the conversation after quite some time.

"Maybe we should ask-"

"- it's not safe-"

"Nya, we could send him-"

"- not leave him alone-"

"-planned to attack us here in public-"

"-can't transform, we would be at a disadvantage-"

"-ybe should leave Japan-"

His head hurt by all the strange emotions running around and inside of him and the fast speaking voices, it made him tired and sleepy. Before he knew it, he felt asleep and leaned his head against somebody's shoulder.

**_~~ 18. December, Afternoon ~~_**

"Chorne, how did it go? Have you meet him? Tell me how did they react?" Akito asked eagerly and smirked. What would his ex-lovers say if they knew what they have planned? He made himself comfortable in the bed, he would go to sleep early, it would be a hard day tomorrow.

"…"

"Have you met him yet?"

"…."

"You fool! We're not here to play! Move your ass and place the damn thing on him. Cole has gotten the information; the manbeasts from America and Australia are on their way to help. We are strong but we can't win against all of them and we need to hurry to get Ryoma before they get too strong!" The dark red-haired male hung up, got out of the bed from his hotel room and stepped at the balcony. He opened the ribbon in his hair and let his dark red hair fly in the wind. Soon, he would get his revenge. The shadows weren't so stupid as to fight with only four people. Their own help was also on the way. This time they would win the war!


	16. Goodbye, My Dear Brother

**A/N: I was sad after reading the few feedbacks. I have corrected my story on the 21. July. Deleted very few sentences and change one big fact in the 12. Chapter - Bonded. **

**Pairing: OT6**

**Disclaimer: Do not own anything.**

* * *

**_~~ Goodbye, My Dear Brother ~~_**

**_~~ 18. December, Early Night ~~_**

He felt many emotions and heard all kind of voices, inside his head, his heart and his ears. The teen kept his eyes shut, hearkened to the sounds and let the feelings of the strangers stream inside his mind. The fuzzy grip around his waist tightened, a wet tongue licked the back of his left hand, before the creature left him alone again. They noticed his awaken state, still they hadn't said anything - left him time for himself to think and understand. There was no connection with him through the head and he was grateful for it. Ryoma needed time to get calm and used to his new life. The teen focused on his own emotions, tried to figure out what he was feeling and why. Memories, dreams and thoughts floated along his brain. The past events stayed at very front, the words of his older brother cornered and disturbed him. They unexpected hurt him like a slap in the face. He shouldn't be like this, he shouldn't feel sorry about his actions against his brother. Ryoga hadn't been in the right, had he?

_'Have you forgotten the last fifteen years?' _

Yeah, most of the memories... were bleary. Only one of them stayed clear and sharp in his heart after all the years. Whenever he remembered, he heard, saw and felt it clearly - the one memory. He had never forgotten it, what Ryoga had done for him, however, Ryoma would never admit it or word it out loud. He thanked and sometimes respected his brother for saving him from something he hadn't known the years back then. Still, he had forced it far in the back of his mind, had ignored it and thought only about his new life. The teen had forgotten who he thanked his life. He felt guilty for never thanking him. Ryoga had been a noisy sibling from the start, they didn't get along for so long. When had it stopped? Their affection for each other?

* * *

_Golden eyes pierced him with their intensity. It scared him._

_"Ryoma! Ryoma, open your eyes!"_

_A silhouette carried him and a salty liquid dropped down onto his eyes, lips and nose._

_"Don't leave me alone!"_

_More of the salty liquid dropped on his face and the grip around him tightened._

_"My Chibisuke. I'll protect you, don't worry."_

* * *

Ryoma stirred awake anew by the gentle caresses on his right cheeks. The tender fingertips stroke further his skin till he was fully aware of his surroundings. He moaned by the touch of a chaste kiss on his lips, another hand ruffled his blackish green hair. His view landed on the people who were spread all over the big living room of Keigo's mansion. New faces filled the insides and more new manbeast covered the ground with their sleeping form. It looked crowded, full till the limits. A couple of them were just chatting, playing games and cards, few others were, the pairs under the manbeasts, kissing and spoke in privacy with their lovers. The nearest ones to Ryoma were at least three of the five.

Keigo warmed him up with his fur, Genichirou stroke his cheek while Seiichi must have been the one who had kissed him. Ryoma stretched and yawned, glanced around the room. Nowhere near was a school. Had he slept so long?

"We left school early. We need to talk to you." Ryoma rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, nodded and attempted to stand up but a hiss let him inhale in his movement. He viewed southwards, staring at his lovely cat. Karupin meowed loudly, begged his master to pay some attention to him and play with him. Ryoma, being a good master, lifted the cat and stroke the sensitive skin right below the ears. The cat purred in delight and rubbed his face under the emerald-haired teen's jaw and against his throat. The teen enjoyed the cheerful noises of his faithful cat, focused entirely on him. All the more was he startled when a cold nose poke his waist and gazed at him with sparkling eyes. Dark red fur and four strange hyperactive waving tails - he had a clue who this could be.

Karupin noted the intruder and hissed, trashed in his arms and scratched his cheek with his claws. His cat jumped out of his arms and sprinted out of the room, afraid of another cuddle-attack from the red manbeast. The manbeast had nearly cuddle him to death and once in a year was enough. Ryoma groaned by the sudden pain and lifted his left hand to wipe the blood, which began to stream drown his skin, away. His hand was too slow for the incoming reaction. "Ouch."

_Lick_.

The master blinked, his brain had a hard time to realize what had just happened. His hand touched his cheek which was wet from saliva and not from the blood. A tongue had licked his bleeding cheek and a joyful _'mhm'_ sound let him blink one more time. Ryoma turned around, saw Seiichi licking his lips in pleasure, and pointed with his finger at the criminal. "Did you just lick my cheek?"

"Why, yes. I did." There was not a single hint of guilt or embarrassment from being caught. The bluenette licked with his tongue over his lips, tasting the last bit of the delicious blood. "You taste much better now. I'm impressed." The only human was confused if he should take the words as a compliment or not. The cold nose poke him once more and the sparkling eyes were still staring at him, even the more now - eager to get some attention from his master. Ryoma sighed, gave in and reached out for the dark red fur. A blush hovered over his nose and he looked away in shyness. Stroking an animal where you know it was a human, somehow he felt embarrassed.

The manbeast stepped forward, closer to him and glanced up with his blue eyes, asking for something. The teen took his time to understand the meaning of the silent plead. "Don't even think that I will carry you like Karupin, no matter which form." Eiji's tails paused for a mere second, shocked his master didn't want to cuddle with him in the same way like he had done with his cat. Wasn't he cute too?

_'He can handle us well, I can already see him as a good and strong master.'_

Ryoma's head snapped up and searched for the source of the voice. He hadn't heard it before, so he came to the conclusion it was a newcomer. The teen recognized the furs he had seen and which he hadn't, his sight rested on the group at the very end of the room. There, in the corner, laid around thirteen more manbeasts with two or three tails, watched him with curiosity. Since when had they been here? How could he have missed it? The teen shot his skin a little glance and rolled up the sleeves of the shirt, exposed the black pattern. It didn't hurt, not the tinniest feeling of pain from it, just a tickling touch.

_'We came here to bind us on you and help you. The shadows will try every possible way to get you out of our reach.' _The teen noticed a blond-furred manbeast with three tails, it sat at the front of the little horde._ 'My name is Shiraishi Kuranosuke. Your lovers speak very big of you.'_

Ryoma blushed by the praising and_ 'ched'_, looked away in shyness. The manbeast near the left end of the group stood up and sat down comfortably.

_'We're not the only one who arrived here to help you. More of us will come here and some other will wait for your arrive in an other country.'_

"Wait! Another country? What's the meaning of this?" All pair of eyes landed on him and silence erupted the earlier noisy room. The spoken words felt wrong, it was wrong to leave now. What about his life here? The teen had move here only a few days ago and now he should leave it? Wasn't it too soon? Ryoma thought he could live here for a longer time.

"Ryoma, calm down." Genichirou gave his right hand a light squeeze, pulled him into a warm hug. "We need to leave Japan. It's too dangerous for you to be here, especially with all the hunters and shadows coming. You need to fully understand, the end of your life is ours as well." Seiichi kissed the back of his head, his hands rested on the teen's hips.

"But leaving the country? When?"

"Tomorrow's night. We can not risk anything. It's better for you to be as far away as possible from all this."

"What about Ryoga and my mother? She should be back in Japan after the day of tomorrow."

"Please understand, your old family would only be in the way. A human, who tries to protect you, will only dig his own grave. Ryoga would be one of those people..." Genichirou paused and changed his sight to the open door. "...and so would be Karupin." Ryoma's shoulders sank down and he avoided their look. He had thought about all this earlier, nevertheless, he hadn't guess it would be so soon. Separating ways from his mother, his beloved and faithful cat and also from Ryoga. He hadn't prepared himself for such an hurriedly act. Keigo kissed his temple and he gasped unconsciously. The feeling in his heart changed drastically to insecure, grief and angst. He took in a sharp breath and his head snapped to the door, a frown marked his face. The people and manbeasts around him were immediately alerted by his sudden change. The diva was the first to ask. "What are you feeling? From whom?"

"It's okay. I guess I know who it is." Keigo and Genichirou sighed in relief, let him pass them, however, Seiichi was a different story. The possessive grip on his hips was tight and unbreakable, the manbeast used all his power to hold him back. "Seiichi, it's okay. I only want to talk to him." It was still not enough to convince him. Piercing and pleading amethyst-like orbs stared him into the ground - at least tried to because Ryoma wouldn't give in. The beast master got the feeling it was his responsibility to get control over the bluenette and tell him to realise him. "I won't change my mind. I chose to come with you and I won't back out. I never did before and I wouldn't like to begin with it now or in the near future. Just give me some time." His wrist got slowly released and Ryoma walked out of the room without a second glance back.

* * *

_"Ryoma! Ryoma, open your eyes!" The older boy shouted, shook his younger sibling in his arms while he prayed for his life. He carried him in his hands, pressed his brother tightly against his chest. He cried like a little girl, begged for his little Chibisuke to be alive. His sight was bleary from all the tears, however, he kept walking. "Ryoma! Wake up! You need to wake up! Don't leave me alone."_

_Ryoga clenched his brother harder, he would never let go. His little brother who looked up at him as if he was a hero. His cute sibling. He saw his father, holding his wife and nursing her bad wound. Long and deep injuries were placed on her shoulder and chest. Her chest was heaving and falling strongly. She had trouble to calm down, just like his father._

_Nanjiroh glanced up, noticed his two sons and settled his wife against an old house. The still young man sprinted to them, embraced them, after he had sooth his wife with sweet words._

_"D-Dad... Chibisuke won't wake up... He doesn't open his eyes, he isn't moving..." The father loosened the hug, his tearing orbs were fixated on his youngest child and even if his sight was swimming, he could see the black marks on Ryoma's body. Panic and a silent scream. His beautiful son was the same as he had been._

_His dream changed, the street turned out to be a room - a large bedroom to be exact - with six males on the king-sized bed. His little brother in the middle of it, drink the red liquid with delight. _

_The world shook violently, his head was spinning by the disturbing sight. The memory of the one time he tried so hard to forget. No, it wasn't his brother. It was someone else, no way it was his cute Chibisuke._

* * *

"Ryoga!" By someone calling his name, he jumped out of his dream, his memory. A figure, smaller than him and with a stronger presence hovered above and glanced down at him.

"..." Ryoga panted hard, pulled the small person in his arms and hugged him with all his mind. "Chibisuke!" He called after he had recognized the teen and tightened his grip around him. It made him all the more scared when his brother didn't push him back and also returned the embrace. It was not like his brother would usually react in such a situation. "W-What are you doing? Why aren't you pushing me back?"

"Thanks, Ryoga." They stayed in the hug for a little longer.

"What?"

"I wanted to thank you before we leave tomorrow's night. I haven't forgotten the past, the time you saved me. So, thank you." The arms loosened, coldness overwhelmed him and fright joint in. It couldn't be true, it must be a dream or a silly joke.

"W-Wait! What do you mean? I don't understand!" His hands trembled, grabbed Ryoma's wrist in a bruising way.

"My folk and I are leaving, somewhere where the shadows can't find me. They're worried for my sake and some can't focus when I'm around." The voice was even, no emotions shivered in it. Was it all the same for his little Chibisuke?

"You want to leave me?"

"Ryoga, I don't think yo-" Did he even mean something to his brother? Was he hated so much by him? Was it nothing more than a nice talk for him to leave?

"You can't leave me! I promised to protect you! What about Mom?"

"They can protect me too. You and Mom would probably stand in the way." Ryoga's face turned more and more into a depressing and distressed expression.

"Chibisuke... I... Is there any way I can help? I want to come with you. I can fight." Ryoma took off the hand on his wrists, turned on his heel, shook his head in disagreement. "I-I'll do anything, please." Still, Ryoma shook his head with his closed eyes. Tears lingered on the edge of Ryoga's eyes. Why couldn't he go with his little brother? Why not? Ryoma saw the distress and turned once more, facing his sibling. For the first time since the start of the conversation, Ryoga heard sadness and regret in Ryoma's voice.

"The reason I don't want one of you to be with me, is because I don't want you to get in any danger. Remember me like I am right now and not like I'll be. I'm changing, I can feel and see it, still, I'm your brother. You said, you don't want to see my new self, something neither of us can tell if it is good or bad, but I can't stop it and I don't want to stop it. It's a new part of me. I'll manage to survive, I always did, and perhaps our ways will cross each other. I'm sure Keigo doesn't need the mansion anymore, you should stay here and live your life like any other normal human." He paused, looked up with his watery eyes. "Please take good care of Karupin and tell Mom I love her, tell her the truth."

He couldn't stop the sadness flowing out of his mask. Ryoga smiled and cried at the same time, his dear brother would be gone, gone for a long time and perhaps... for forever. He wished to be beside his younger brother but he could see the reason for his beloved brother's rejection. He was a human after all, a teenager in High School - nothing more. Tears welled out, blocked his sight with blurriness. The sobs escaped his lumped throat unstoppable and soundly. He hid his face from Ryoma's view, ashamed of himself to cry and beg to come along. It had never been so hard to let his brother go. There had been more awkward times when Ryoma would leave for a longer time. But Ryoga understood, even if his brother said, promised him, that they would meet once more, he knew they wouldn't. It would be their last time to feel, see and hear from one another - his little brother, who he had secretly treasured like a diamond, would grow up into a stranger he wouldn't understand, even if he wanted to.

"God damn it! I'm not good at such things!" He cried harder and as he thought it couldn't get worse, a warm and exotic scent surrounded him, followed by a pair of safe and warm arms. His heart ached horribly, his throat was lumped, the older sibling hiccupped, sobbed and cried. Ryoma stayed beside him in quietness, left him his time to cry like a little boy. He, himself, had the salty liquid in his golden orbs. "It was my dream to see you play and go professional in Tennis against me, well, it seems like I need to find a bigger dream now."

He laughed, tried to save the mood but his aching heart couldn't sooth down, he swallowed back the sadness, the hurt, the fear and the sorrow. If they parted now, he wanted Ryoma to remember him as someone good, not the lousy brother he had been all the years but the older brother he could trust and always come back to.

"Don't let them take you down and..." His voice broke, lost the words for the sentence. Ryoma gazed at him with his lovely bright golden eyes. One more time did he breathe in the scent, one more time did he run his hands through the dark hair and along the cheeks, one last time did he hug his brother, before Ryoma left the room. His brother didn't glance back to him, didn't say any more words. It was their farewell. Tomorrow would be another day with the normal problems, still it would be the biggest change in his life and he would need to survive it. He would overcome it, time would heal his heart.

_'... and never forget me or our mother because we will have you in our memories and hearts, little Ryoma.'_


	17. The Night Of A New Beginning

**A/N: I don't get it. I get many favorites for this story but not a single review? What did I miss? **

Anyway, this is the final chapter of this story.**  
I hope it isn't too rushed. Thanks to everyone who had read so far.**

**Pairing: OT6**

**Disclaimer: Do not own anything.**

* * *

_**~~ The Night Of A New Beginning ~~**_

_**~~ 19. December, Late Morning ~~**_

Ryoma watched the snow hovering down and onto the floor. His thoughts circled in different direction. He hadn't visited his brother again and he had no intension to do so. His skin felt ticklish as if he was on electricity or sharp needles pocked him, the hairs on his neck stood up and the many foreign emotions confused him. His family told him about the incoming help, more manbeasts would arrive shortly. It was a slight tickle because those manbeasts weren't under his control but as soon as he accepted them it would stop to hurt, to tickle.

He played unmindfully with the purple colored fur, ran it through his fingers an twirled it around. His back leaned against Keigo's warm body, the diva's tails were around him to keep him warm. The manbeasts did everything to spoil him from head to toe. Seiichi and Syusuke rested beside him, they seemed to sleep but he knew they listened and watched all his moves and thoughts. Maybe because he hadn't talked a single word after he had talked with Ryoga? His brother was still upset about his absence in the near future. Sadness and worry electrified his heart and his free hand moved automatically to the brown-haired tensai's neck and began to pet and massage the knocks out of the muscles. If it was uncomfortable for them to live in their human form?

_'In some kind of way.'_

_'We're used to stay in this form and if it isn't against your will, we would like to keep it as that. We're not used to stay for so long in our other form.'_

"Yeah, it might be better. At least I would need to see your faces." He smirked and pulled his hand away right in time before the two tensais could snap at his hand. Ryoma grinned in victory, nevertheless, he had forgotten the diva behind him who was proud about his own beauty. Keigo licked his neck and his left ear. A sensation overwhelmed him, something he had never felt before. The teen cried out in surprise and jumped out of the comfortable warmth. His face grew red when the chuckles and laughers reached his ears. They dared to laugh at their master! He couldn't help but pout which increased the laughers by the adorable sight.

However, the laughers died out when Ryoma flinched and rubbed both of his arms, his head snapped to the outsides. "Is it them? The shadows?" He asked in a hushed voice and tried to listen to any kind of emotions or thoughts, but there was nothing. He couldn't hear anything, couldn't feel anything. It was strange and the fright rose inside his very bone, coldness tightened his heart. Why wasn't it working now? He had felt the emotions from the shadow and also the one from his brother, an ordinary human, and some of the manbeasts, his family. Why wasn't it working now? The door banged open, the wind howled inside and pierced his sensitive orbs. Ryoma shut them immediately, covered them with his left hand and stayed still. There was no need to be afraid, he reminded himself. His family would have reacted long ago if it was an enemy and not an ally.

His eyes sharpened under his eyelids, he could feel it. The needles were one big sponge, rubbed over his skin with electricity. It hurt, but not as bad as it had been at his first encounter with his currently small family. He could endure it.

_'He trust you, already?'_

_'The squirt isn't scared?' _

There was no reply to the questions. His family let him speak for himself and he was grateful for it. The door closed once again, the wind stopped to trash his hair around and he opened his eyes, only to be stunned and speechless. Right before him was not just a herd but a wave of manbeasts who were, even with the snarling and growling, beautiful. He had gotten used by the looks, the fright had lessened to a nearly none existing height. Nonetheless, the snarls did stop him from getting too close to them.  
One of the newcomers snarled louder than the others, bared his sharp teeth directly at him. Ryoma frowned and glared at the manbeast with confidence and smirked. No, the unknown manbeast wouldn't attack him, wouldn't hurt him. It would be his own death if he did. "Right now, I'm in the better position than you are. If I were you, I would try to be nice and not growl at the one who can force you to sit in the next corner with your tails between your legs."

The snarl stopped abruptly - it was silent. The new manbeast angled his head to the right and then to the left, he wasn't sure how to react at Ryoma's words. The teenager's family chuckled, finding amusement by their master's words. Ryoma viewed over each manbeast, tried to count them - it were too many. His glance stayed by one certain manbeast who stood beside the one who had just snarled at him a few seconds ago. The creature made one step forward, unsure of his action.

It didn't take long for Ryoma to understand the reason, the wish, behind the movement and he smiled in acknowledge. His _'lovers'_ had told him not long ago how strong his appeal to touch him was - a powerful push which had pulled them to him and his awaiting touch. It wasn't any different for this manbeast. He craved his closeness, so Ryoma stood straight and lifted his hand like he would do it by a horse - the right hand's back was angled slightly to the right. The beast master waited for the manbeast to come to him - not risking to awake another wave of snarling from the other creatures.

The manbeast stepped to him, now with more confidence, and rubbed his head against the warm hand, enjoying the touch. The teenager furrowed his brows, wondered why he still couldn't feel anything. Nothing.

_'I wanna play! I wanna play!'_

Ryoma jolted out of his trance and searched for the child-like voice. This manbeast couldn't be as old as the others, the voice and thoughts were too much of a kid's. Another manbeast with very light blond fur walked up to him and held something between his mouth. The teen noted it was also something furry which tried to punch the carrier with its tiny paws. He pulled his hand out of the fur, walked up to the blond creature, crouched down to the small manbeast's height and stroke with one finger along the backside. The kid shivered and purred by the touch.

The teenager was thankful for his good reflexes because the one who carried the child let it go. Ryoma caught it right in time but had no idea how to hold the trashing furball, so he tried to hold it like a normal baby. The child licked his cheek countless times and when it brushed the area between his ear and shoulder, he giggled unconsciously. Soft, familiar hands took pity on him and parted him from the small manbesat. Another pair of hands curled around his waist and some other rested on his head, neck and shoulders.

"Sweet, isn't he?" Syusuke asked the newcomer teasingly, messing up Ryoma's hair - who tried his best to stop him but failed -and chuckled. Their little master watched the youngest manbeast twirl in Kunimitsu's arm and whine, which sounded more like a meow, in disagreement. Ryoma smiled when Karupin came in, rushing to Kunimitsu to take a glance at the young red-furred manbeast. The smile left his face when his cat hissed and crouched down, ready to strike the young and now silent manbeast. He grabbed his cat and held it tight.

"Karupin! They're family not foe!" He scolded Karupin and earned a deep bite into his right hand. He was distracted and let Karupin fall out of surprise, the cat sprinted away and up onto the large dresser, hissed all the while. "Jealous cat." Ryoma muttered and licked and sucked on his hand, his blood tasted strange.

"Ahem... Ryoma?" Called teen looked up and shivered, his family's orbs had changed into pure gold. The teenager turned on his heels and was faced with another herd of hungry manbeasts who seemed to like the smell of his fresh blood. He stayed strong, pierced back into those many golden eyes, he wouldn't give them his blood, not when they would have the same effect afterwards like his lovers had for him. Ryoma got the feeling that if he would glance away from them, he would lose something, like a match.

"Give it up, he may be instable and needs a lot of help right now but he is already strong enough from the insides. We doubt it will take long for him to be ready to fight with us against them." The manbeasts shifted, changed into their human form and the sparkles blinded Ryoma's sight. Different kinds of people stood before him and watched him with still hungry, golden eyes. It were the same eyes which he had seen by his family before he had accepted them as his new family. They wanted him to accept them as his family, too. "However, for now, all we need is a little bit more time and a safe place for him to stay. We're not ready to fight the shadows, not yet."

His family walked back to where they had been awhile ago and sat down again. They all introduce themselves. "You want to run away from them? It wouldn't change the situation." said the guy with short, blond hair and followed suit, sat down onto the ground, near his new master. Ryoma could identify him now as Shiraishi Kuranosuke who had the ability to hide his tribe's aura.

"Saa, it wouldn't change it but it would give us time which we need urgently!"

"Still..."

"We have no other choice. We won't let him stay here while all hunters and shadows could get and kill him!"

"If we agree to your plan, where would you hide him?"

"How about America?" It was the first time Ryoma interrupted them by their plans. If they would go to the States he could guide them, he had lived their most of his life.

"What? Why there?"

"No! No, honey, no contact to your mother or any other person who knows you." Syusuke pulled him against his chest and laid his hands on his stomach and chest, keeping him there. "We're sorry, but we can't risk your life. You're too precious."

"Actually, I didn't think about my mother but a place to hide." The teenager took the silence as a sign of attention and continued to speak his thoughts. "When I was little, Ryoga and I had found a large mine which resembles a hall, it's far from my old home in the States. The deeper someone walks in, the darker but steadier it gets. Nobody else than us two know about it."

"No, your brother isn't faithful. He could betray you and tell your father about this place. really could." Momoshiro didn't look at him. The manbeast would never trust the sibling, not in his current life.

"He won't."

"He will!"

"Are you distrusting my words, Takeshi?" The words escaped Ryoma's mouth with a shattering fierce. He hadn't wanted the words to sound so harsh but he couldn't help it. Ryoga wouldn't betray him! He couldn't blame Momoshiro for his distrust against Ryoga, however, after Ryoma had talked and said goodbye to him he had seen the true self of his brother who had stayed hidden behind a mask for too long. He was accepted and loved as younger brother, even if their time together was nearly none existing. The tears and the broken voice of his brother had given him the proof for his loyalty - he would never hand him over to the foe. That's all what he needed to know.

Momoshiro stepped back, opened his mouth and formed silent words of apology. He hadn't thought his master would talk back against him and with such a strength nonetheless. He shook his head and bowed his head for an apology, walked back into the line. "We told you about his mental steadiness. All he need is time to learn more about his and our abilities. Loyalty isn't something we get from him for nothing, it's something we need to earn and the other way around."

"Are you sure your father doesn't know this place?" Ryoma nodded and lifted his head a little higher, glanced up the stairs and stared at nothing. He had managed to say goodbye to his brother but now that his mother had been mentioned, what about her? The manbeasts wouldn't let him get close to her. Would she miss him? Maybe she had been gone for too long to build a steady relationship with her son so she wouldn't miss him too much?

* * *

Chorne couldn't ignore it anymore. The feeling, the familiar sensation in his stomach - the butterflies. There was no chance to suppress it any longer. The emotions this certain guy caused in him made him crazy and turned him into a worrywart. There was no way to deny it, however, it didn't mean he was accepting it. He sighed deeply, annoyed about his current situation. No matter how hard he tried to find a way out of all this, he didn't find one, not a single plan to ally with both sides. He didn't want to kill, he didn't want to see death. Chorne had seen it too often in his life, he had had enough of it. He knew he shouldn't feel this way for his old family who had abandoned him long ago. He wanted to help them to stay alive but one of the problems would be the shadows and the hunters.

The other problem stayed by himself - once a shadow, always a shadow. A return of being a master didn't exist. No way back. Now he understood the speech - do not answer so half heartily, think about your very decision. Was it regret which he felt?  
No, even if Cole and Akito have turned into some crazy bunch, they had been his family for the past years and he wouldn't forget the memories and their help. He threw the knife with full force, aimed for the target in front of him and managed to earn a perfect score. Akito was the last problem. The guy was completely insane since he had met his old flames. He had given him, Chorne, a very small box, not even a handful, with something sticky in it. He had told him to open it when the last master was beside him.

So he came to the conclusion that it was something poisoning or explosive. No matter what it was, he wouldn't use it. Chorne hadn't forgiven the manbeasts but he didn't hate them anymore. The tribe which he had met, was different than his old one. They all had a closer relationship, he had seen the need of protecting each other in their eyes. How he wished to belong to one of those people. "Forget it. It's too late for such emotions! They have made it clear, their hate against every shadow."

"Cole won't like to hear your doubt about our mission to kill the last master and get finally ride of all those disgusting manbeasts."

"Aktio!"

"Have the few hours with them brainwashed you or something? Have you forgotten the past? How they have treated you, your old folk?"

_'Because you can't forget your dead ex-lover doesn't mean I can not do it too. I have seen something in their eyes which my old folk never had.'_

"No, I haven't forgotten. And I'm not blinded by them."

"Good because we'll leave this place and drive to the airport. Now."

"Your injury isn't healed yet."

"I don't care about my injury! We can't stay back because we need time to recover. Now that they have their precious master they won't stay long at one place. Not longer than necessary and probably not only in Japan. Nanjiroh believes his son will travel back to his old home."

"What about the hunters? When will they arrive here?"

"Never. Some bastards had murdered them, their legs and arms were bitten off!" Akito spitted the last words out with pure hate. Chorne understood the message. Other manbeasts had entered Japan to meet up with their last one. It were getting more and more with each passing day. The longer they would wait, the stronger and the merrier would they, the manbeasts, be.

_**~~ 19. December, Afternoon ~~**_

The night sky was clear in view and the stars shone brightly above his head. Ryoma heard the voice from the inside, still not sure what to do next with him, but didn't listen any closer to the conversation. It was a strange feeling, sitting in a tree and watching his brother's room. Ryoga's eyes were swollen and still red from all the crying. The beast master didn't like the sight but couldn't afford to comfort his older brother. His presence would hurt him only the more, scratching the healing wound deeper.

He closed his eyes, tried to enjoy the quiet while everything around him seemed to be... stressed and in hectic. Quiet, he needed the silence right now, he needed to calm down. He shouldn't think, he should feel nervous, sad, furious, scared by the mere thought of his father. Was the man still his father? Could he call him father after what he had done and wanted to do to him?

Quiet, he needed quiet now.  
Time to calm down entirely.  
Ryoma closed his eyes and let his body float in the wind. He breathed in the icy air, loosened his muscles and fell into a trance. Everything around him was gone completely, nothing existed for a second till...

"Ryoma! Where are you?" Genichirou's voice trembled like never before, fear, or perhaps confusion, was waving out of it.

_'I'm up the tree.'_

He was too lazy to open his closed eyes. It had been finally quieten down and now Gen needed to come and call him. A hand grabbed him, pushed him off balance. Ryoma fell down but landed carefully in Genichirou's arms and the following hug was bone breaking. Thankfully it didn't last long. Gen took his face in his hands and stroke his cheeks with his thumbs. "Sorry. Your thoughts, your presence had suddenly disappeared and we thought your father or..."

It was then that Ryoma realized the stares from the door. His lovers had barged out too, wanted to search for him. The other four walked to him, sighed in relief and touched his arms and head in any way, probably making sure if he was alright. "Never do it again, okay? Tells us before you practice to block us out of your thoughts!" Syusuke kissed his forehead and pulled him into a hug. He had blocked them? It was his doing? How? The teenager's gaze wandered from his lovers to the rest of his family. Everyone was shifting, changing their form in silence. How long had he been up the tree?

"It's time to go, isn't it?"

"Yeah. We need to reach the airport on time if we don't want to have any further complications."

"Okay." The rest of his now very big family shifted as well. Ryoma couldn't help but smile a little bit, it was an amazing view and the bare thought about being able to once control them made him excited. He had given his blood - it was necessary for the pact of acceptance - to the leader of both other tribes. The picture - the glance in the future with him sitting somewhere and the manbeasts around him, sleeping calmly on the ground and beside him - it had burnt its way into his brain, he wanted to be the person he had seen thanks to Kunimitsu.

The teenager glanced at a certain window where an older version of him looked out and watched him. The person waved with his hand and nodded, then drove away with the wheelchair and out of sight. A terrifying guess kept him from taking his view away from the window. "I want a handful of you to stand here and watch over my brother till he can walk again. Find a save place for him to stay and keep him save, especially from my father or any other shadow." His stare was still directed at the window.

"Anybody special in your mind?"

"No, anybody is fine as long as the person won't hurt him more than he already is."

"Alright." Surprisingly it was Yanagi who went forward and kissed the forehead of his master. "I'll take care of him and will return to you after he can live on his own. I'll take Kaidoh, Marui, Jackal and Oishi with me." Ryoma nodded and turned around to see the five walking up to the entrance of the mansion and going inside. It was time to go. Every worry was taken care of, every fear would be fought against. A tongue darted out and wanted to lick his right hand, nonetheless, he was faster and caught the snout, held it. Ryoma purposely smirked and viewed at Eiji. "I know, I'm still to slow."

There were laughers and Ryoma loosened his grip around the snout. Eiji sneezed loudly. Ryoma searched for one certain manbeast and walked up to him after he had seen it. He scratched the head gently with his right hand's fingers, saw the enjoyment in the manbeast's eyes - in Keigo's eyes. He used the chance of Keigo's unguarded moment and hopped up onto his back, fisted his hands into the dark purple fur.

Just for fun he clicked with his tongue like someone would do by his horse to get it moving. A growl was the reply and he smirked once more. As soon as the first step was taken he could breath better, think less about the consequence of leaving his old life.

_**~~ 19. December, Night ~~**_

They had run for three hours, were finally standing at the private airport of Atobe Keigo and waited for the last few manbeasts to arrive. They had split in three big groups, one was still missing but would hopefully arrive soon. Ryoma heard their thoughts, reassured the others that they were alive and unharmed. Seiichi and Syusuke had shifted back to their human form and stood at his left and right side, massaging and stroking his shoulders and neck. The teenager let them do as they liked - he had reject their closeness but the worried and confused expression made him submit to them. It was the wrong time to fight over something so simple when their lives could end at any minute.

The two groups of manbeast were already in the private plane of Atobe Keigo, making themselves comfortable - at least they tried to. The knowledge the shadows or the hunters could arrive any time made them itchy, nervous and restless as hell. It would last as long as they were still in Japan. They had decided not to go back to America - even if Ryoma's idea was good, it was too easy and their foes would probably look there first thing in the morning. It saddened him to be unable to see his old home ever again but he understood the reason for their reactions. They all wanted to live, wanted to see him alive without any pain. Maybe it was also the reason for Seiichi's and Syusuke's clinginess? "Ryoma, you should go inside. Your lips are blue." A thumb caressed the said lips and kissed him gently to warm them up. "They'll be here soon."

He nodded and walked inside the plane, took place at one of the empty seats in the middle of the plane. Something was wrong, the strange feeling grew stronger. He rubbed his stomach with his left hand, his lungs burnt, it felt cold and hurt as if he had a knot in there. He held his throat with the other free hand and leaned his head back, tried to relax.

At first he thought it had something to do with his own emotions but it couldn't be because it was the same feeling like back then in the classroom. It wasn't his confusion and fright he felt, it came from someone else who he could read thanks to his new ability and whoever it was, the person was frightened badly. The feelings changed, intensified and mixed up with something new which caught Ryoma by surprise and made him gasp. The quiet chatters were stopped immediately when his family saw the sweat on his forehead and his unmoved form, the tight grip of his hands on the seat. He jumped up, stumbled forward and outside. The teenager took a very deep breath and forced his body to stand straight.

The person's emotion changed for the nth time and suddenly a throb of love and wanting reach his heart. Ryoma knew the person, it wasn't a complete stranger to him and it wasn't a foe.

"Who is it?" Seiichi's voice and Syusuke's touch startled him.

"A shadow...Sensei..."

"Alone?"

"I don't know. I feel different feelings, they grew endlessly. He is frightened, helpless and full of desire to protect a certain person in his arms... he doesn't want to fight..."

"Even if his feelings say so, we can't trust it. Please, go inside and wait for us there. The rest of us will be there shortly, I can hear their thoughts."

"No, I want to talk to him."

"Honey, not now!"

"Ryoma!" The voice jerked him out of their conversation, startled him and also the other two. Chorne stood a few meters away from them, hand lifted for him to see that he had no weapons and no desire to fight him. "I need to talk with you and your family." He took four more steps in his direction, too close for his lovers' liking. They growled lowly, warned him clearly. The shadow stopped and continued to talk from his current position. "Your father has the same ability like me. A shield to hide and protect the ones inside the circle. However, the shield has only one strong side while the backside is wide open. Do you understand what I mean?"

Ryoma did, nevertheless, he was also confused. Why would Chorne tell him his weakness? It would be a mistake to trust him completely, though, it sounded logical. He opened his mouth to ask more but he couldn't. The word _'traitor!'_ echoed over the whole airport. Something silver blinked in the lamp's light, cut across the air. Chorne fell down onto the snowy ground like a heavy stone. The man panted, gasped and groaned in pain. A knife pierced through his upper torso, the tip of it was visible at the front. Blood streamed out and formed a puddle. Ryoma couldn't move by the sight of blood, frozen and sick.

The growls and snarls let him snap his head to the right to see the last group of manbeasts approaching them fast. The emerald-haired teen frowned by the bared fangs but understood the meaning when a feeling of hate and jealousy rose up in his heart. He had no chance to take a glance at the also approaching shadows. Seiichi and Syusuke shoved him inside the plane which started the motor immediately. It was one big mess around him, everywhere were hands, pushing and pulling at him, blocking his sight. He heard rushed words, cracking sounds, shrieks and growls, metal hitting on metal, shouts and curses, howls and suddenly a high shriek. The insecurity, not knowing what was happening outside, made him shiver and fear about the other's well being.

As quickly as it had started it was ended, at least he thought it had ended. The last person who entered the plane and shut the door was Genichirou - his face and body were bloody but mostly unharmed. His lovers rushed to their master, held his eyes and ears shut, covered his mouth with their lips. He blocked every of his senses.

_'What is going on?'_

With one swift jerk he got a glimpse of a bloody, snowy floor - manbeasts, dead and cold lay there, many were from the last group - Chorne pushed his stabbed body up, Cole shot with a gun at the plane and managed to hit it a few times and Lloyed and his father were watching. Ryoma was shocked the most and scared about the sight of Akito.

He couldn't breathe, he shook furiously in Kunimitsu's arms, his body was numb. "Shh... shh..." He heard someone hush at him, felt the touches from his family but the sight hunt him in his incoming nightmares. Someone had bitten off Akito's whole left arm. Uncontrolled and without any mercy, ripped it off and spit it out next to him.

He lost consciousness and was thankful for it, not ready to accept something like this.

_**~~ 2 Years later, Midnight ~~**_

Ryoma petted Karupin, the cat had hid in his luggage, read the thick book and glanced up without changing his expression at the whine. He smiled at the still small manbeast who wanted his attention. The young man left his seat - a high positioned throne made out of stone - and walked carefully past the sleeping creatures and up to the whining child

"Hush, Kintaro. Go back to sleep like your brothers. Tomorrow will be an exhausting day. Have you forgotten? We'll return to Japan."

_'No! I wanna play! Not sleepy!'_

A glare was all it needed for him to send him back to one of his brothers, snuggling against the blond fur and looking at his master for a mere second before he closed his eyes for the second time.

_'Old man, be ready!'_

**The End**

* * *

**I want to give a special thanks to:**

_Lady Queria_  
_denizen of the night_  
_Pirate Bo_  
_ryoka-chan_  
_Amy-sama90_  
_Pri-Chan 1410_  
_xxSnowxxAngelxx_  
_Ayingott_  
_ajas136_  
_animelover4ever69_  
_afallenheart_  
_TheDarkesstButterfly_  
_X_

**because they reviewed more than once and helped me a lot in this story and gave encouragement. It had taken me longer than I thought it would need but I have finally finished this story and I hope my readers have enjoyed it as much as I did.**  
**Thanks to everybody who had reviewed, favorited this story or me as an author. I'm really thankful for it and hope that I haven't disapointed you.**

**Thanks for reading till the end and I hope to hear from you again.**


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